Be the match and honor Jentry

Colonial Acres of Humboldt will be sponsoring a Bone Marrow Registration Drive in collaboration with “Be The Match, an organization that is the first step to being the cure for patients with blood cancers like leukemia and other marrow diseases.”  
During the Richardson County Fair in Humboldt, donors can take the first step to save a life by joining the Be The Match Registry at the Colonial Acres booth, located in the City Square Park. You can sign up anytime between 12:00 Noon – 8:00pm.   The drive is sponsored in honor of Jentry Schell, 12 year-old daughter of Colonial Acres Assisted Living Manager, Jennifer Schell and her husband Jon of Wymore, Nebraska. Jentry was diagnosed with leukemia on February 10, 2015 and has been receiving treatment at Children’s Hospital in Omaha.  During her treatment, her family has met several children who have benefitted from bone marrow transplants and Jentry and her family want to help find a cure for these life-threatening diseases.
 A marrow/stem cell transplant is a life-saving treatment for people with aplastic anemia, leukemia and many other blood related diseases. For the procedure to be successful, the patient needs a donor who is a genetic match.  70% of the time, patient’s family members will not match the patient; therefore they turn to the Be The Match Registry for help.
This marrow drive is a quest to find suitable marrow donors for patients in need of marrow/stem cell transplant. Be The Match Registry has over 13.5 million potential donors on its list, but still does not have matched marrow donors for all patients. Donors are required to:
1. Be between the ages of 18 and 44 to register at the drive (individuals 45 – 60 years of age will register on-line at www.bethematch.org).
2. Be in general good health.
3. Be committed and willing to donate to anyone they should match.
During this drive, donors will be informed about the procedure of being a marrow/stem cell donor and fill out a brief health history questionnaire.  If eligible, potential donors will be mailed a kit that they will use to swab the inside of their own cheeks using four sterile Q-tips from a self-administered kit.   Cheek cells collected on the swabs will then be tested to match potential donors with patients in need of a lifesaving bone marrow transplant. Colonial Acres will mail all of the registration forms.
To learn more about the need for marrow/stem cell donors, visit www.marrow.org, or call 1-800-marrow2
Colonial Acres Nursing Home and Assisted Living is located in Humboldt, Nebraska. Founded in 1969, Colonial Acres is a community-owned non-profit facility. We are a Medicare/Medicaid certified nursing facility with 49 Long Term Care beds and 14 Assisted Living apartments. We provide on-site services for physical, occupational and speech therapy and Medicare rehab. Our mission is to provide professional healthcare for the geriatric and handicapped population in Southeast Nebraska at a reasonable and honest price
If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Karen Richardson at 402-862-3123 or email at krichardson@colonialacresne.org.