Bone marrow registry drive to be held next week

A bone marrow registry drive is planned for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 16 on the third floor of the Crisp Hall of Nursing at Southeast Missouri State University, a university news release said.

The Southeast Student Nurses Association is sponsoring the event. People ages 18 to 44 may donate.

The drive is in honor of nurse Valerie Watters-Burke, a Red Bud, Ill., native who formerly lived and worked in Cape Girardeau, the release said. Watters-Burke is awaiting a stem cell transplant after being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. Her only brother is not a match, so she will have to rely on the bone marrow registry to find a suitable donor.

Marrow donors are needed to help save the lives of patients with diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma or sickle cell anemia, Desma Reno, Southeast assistant professor of nursing, said in the release.

Reno encourages the campus to join the registry or consider financial donations to help add members. Every $100 raised helps add another member to the registry, she said in the release. Contributions may be made at bethematchfoundation.org/goto/SEMO.

For more information, contact Reno at dreno@semo.edu or Be The Match at dmosley@nmdp.org or 314-348-5650, the release said.