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Bone marrow registry
IF YOU GOWhat: Bone marrow registryWhen: 12:30 to 3 p.m. todayWhere: Chattanooga Christian Assembly, 8100 Bermerwood DriveInformation: Call Anjali Chandra at 423-499-9888 or email practicephysicians@gmail.com.
A 10th-grader from Girls Preparatory School is organizing a citywide bone marrow registry drive today in honor of a Stanford professor.
Anjali Chandra said she acted after hearing about professor Nalini Ambady, who has had a relapse of acute myeloblastic leukemia and has only three weeks to receive a life-saving bone marrow transfusion.
Chandra did some research and found that very few South Asians are bone marrow donors -- so few that a South Asian patient has only a 1-in-20,000 chance of finding a match. Caucasians have a 1-in-8 chance of finding a compatible donor.
She said there's a "lack of awareness about the procedure" along with "the donors not realizing that they are truly, for a little inconvenience, giving a gift of life to a fellow human being."
Her goal is to raise awareness by informing the community of the procedure and encouraging representation from all ethnic, religious and socioeconomic groups.
Chandra said the donation procedure is as simple as giving blood and shares the same risks.
Contact staff writer Kelsey Graham at kelsey leighg@aol.com.