The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is holding a bone marrow donor registration drive from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 30, in the Donaghey Student Center Fitness Center basketball courts.

Registration is open to anyone ages 18 to 44, the age group from which 90 percent of marrow donor matches originate. Those who register will be placed on the Be The Match registry, a global bone marrow registry operated by the National Marrow Donor Program.

The first 300 people who register will receive free T-shirts. The event will also feature free food, ice cream, inflatables, and a DJ.

A simple swab of the cheek is all it takes to help save the life of someone with leukemia, lymphoma, or sickle cell anemia.

“It’s just a cause that we really care about,” said Adam Ness, a sophomore systems engineering major and Donaghey Scholar who is organizing the drive with Shayna Underwood, a freshman environmental engineering major, and three other members of the Donaghey Scholars Program.

“It’s so disheartening to know that the cure for people with blood diseases like leukemia and lymphoma is out there and in somebody who isn’t registered. People die just because potential donors haven’t been added to the registry,” Ness said.

Once registered, only one in approximately 540 people become donors. Most matches are based on age and ancestry. Since patients are most likely to match someone who shares their ancestry, members of underrepresented populations can have difficulty finding matches.

“It’s important for people of diverse ethnic backgrounds to be involved,” Ness said. “There is a huge need in the black, Hispanic, Latino, and Asian, especially anyone of South Asian descent, communities. Those groups are not very well represented.”

The event is sponsored by the Donaghey Scholars Program, Student Government Association, and the Office of Student Housing.

For more information, contact Adam Ness at 479.856.8180 or alness@ualr.edu.