Sacramento State will host a bone marrow drive today and tomorrow, which is sponsored by the Asian American Donor Program and Lambda Phi Epsilon Mu.

Flower Miller provided her co-worker Franklin Templeton with much needed bone marrow after she registered to donate – she just wanted to help.

“I donated because I knew that if I did not, then this man was going to die from Leukemia,” Miller said.

Miller said the man died two years later in 2002, but he did have two more years to live, and, without her bone marrow, he would have died much sooner.

“I also continue to be registered because it is so hard to get people to register and be involved in maybe saving someone’s life,” Miller said.

Joan Yamamoto, the outreach coordinator for the Asian American Donor Program, said bone marrow is very important to the body.

“Bone marrow is the soft tissue found within the bones,” Yamamoto said.

Yamamoto said bone marrow is where most of the new blood cells are produced, and they contain a high amount of stem cells.

Yamamoto said stems cells and white blood cells fight infection, red blood cells deliver oxygen to the body tissues and platelets allow clotting.

“Donating is very important because marrow transplantation is a proven cure for patients with aplastic anemia, some leukemias, lymphomas, and diseases of the immune system. By donating bone marrow, the donor can help a needed patient survive and save their lives,” said Jonathon Chao, the Lambda Phi Epsilon Mu chapter president.

Yamamoto said 70 percent of the people who need a donation must find a donor who is not a relative.

Golden Ha, a senior accounting major, is involved with the drive.

Ha said that it is more difficult to find a match in bone marrow because the type of bone marrow that an individual has is as unique as his or her fingerprints.

“About one in every 200 people on the registry will get a call in their lifetime as a potential match,” Ha said.

Chao said that in order to be eligible to register, a person needs to be between 18 and 60 and be in general good health. There is no disqualification for weight.

Yamamoto said there are certain groups of people, such as blacks and Asians, who have a more difficult time finding matches for bone marrow than white. She added that minorities make up only 25 percent of the bone marrow registry.

Yamamoto said it is important to try and get many different races in order to try and diversify the registry, because while Asians only have a 35 percent chance to find a match, whites have an 85 percent chance.

Yamamoto said the most important thing people can do when they come to register is to bring the proper information with them, because that will make the process of registering much easier.

Yamamoto added that this info is needed because donors are listed on the bone marrow registry until age 61.

“It is important that we find the donor in a timely manner,” she said.

What you’ll need and what to expect:– Address book: Two contacts of reference- Driver’s license- Social Security number- To be on the registry until age 61

Philip Malan can be reached at [email protected]