Blood Drive and Bone Marrow Typing in Honor of Piedmont High School Teacher
On Friday, August 24, the American Red Cross of Union County will be holding a blood drive and bone marrow typing at Piedmont High School. The drive is in honor of Rick Phillips, a teacher at the school who has Leukemia.
Rick recently came out of being in remission for six years, and when the Principal, faculty, and staff at Piedmont High School found out, they wanted to do something to help, and contacted the Red Cross.
“Rick is currently undergoing chemotherapy at UNC Chapel Hill Hospital, where he is in great spirits and is very excited about the blood drive and bone marrow typing,” states Brenda Drye, a fellow teacher who is the lead person for the drive.
The drive will take place at 1619 Piedmont School Road, in Monroe, NC from 1:00pm to 6:30pm. In order to donate blood you must be 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, and be in general good health.
The National Bone Marrow Registry will also be on site for bone marrow typing. The process is very simple; you answer a few questions, someone swabs your cheek, and that’s it! You will then be entered into the national database where you could get the chance to save someone’s life. The National Marrow Donor Program maintains a national database of potential marrow donors, so even if you are not a match for Rick, you could be a match for some other person in need.
In order to sign-up for the bone marrow registry, you must be between the ages of 18 and 60, be willing to donate to any patient in need, and meet the health guidelines. For more information, log-on to www.marrow.org.
For more information on the American Red Cross of Union County, donating blood, or the bone marrow registry, please contact the chapter at 704-283-7402 for Union County or 704-694-3514 for Anson County, or log-on to www.unioncountyredcross.org.
