VENTURA : Bone Marrow Donors to Be Tested Sunday

Lynnette Chandler doesn’t like to host bone marrow donor drives so close to Christmas.

But Chandler--the Camarillo founder of Children for Tomorrow, which recruits and registers donors in Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties--said that the desperate plight of the LaRue family from Silver Strand Beach was so serious that she decided to make an exception this Sunday in Ventura.

“This isn’t an easy situation for anyone to go through,” said Chandler, whose 16-year-old daughter Amanda suffers from a rare disorder. “But that is especially true for the LaRues, who have already lost one child and may lose two more. My heart feels for them.”

Scott and Theresa LaRue lost Layne, their 13-month-old baby, in June to X-linked lymphoproliferative disease, a rare chromosome disorder.

Now, two other sons--3-year-old Garrett and 6-month-old Blayke--have been diagnosed with the same condition.

Without a bone marrow match, they will probably die, doctors say. The children are among 117 people in Ventura County who need bone marrow transplants to stay alive, Chandler said. Of those, 87 are children.

Sunday’s drive will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Main Street in front of E.P. Foster Library. Organizers expect to conduct bone marrow testing on about 200 people.

For information on helping Ventura County residents who need a bone marrow match, call Children for Tomorrow at 987-6935.