'It's about saving lives': Zips Zap Cancer Event aims to draw diverse bone marrow donors

The University of Akron will host a bone marrow donor registry drive April 12-14 to expand and diversify the national pool of potential donors.

The Zips Zap Cancer Event aims to recruit more people into the Be The Match Registry to help patients with blood cancers — such as leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma — and sickle cell disease receive lifesaving transplants.

According to the National Marrow Donor Program, nearly 70% of people do not have a bone marrow match in their own families, meaning that an expanded registry is crucial.

The odds are even worse for minority patients.

Despite being the largest and most diverse bone marrow donor registry in the world, the Be The Match Registry found that the likelihood of a white person finding a match is 77%, whereas only 23% of Black people will find a match.

For Asians or Pacific Islanders, the likelihood is 41%. For Hispanic or Latino communities and American Indians and Alaskan natives, the figures are 46% and 57%, respectively.

“That’s what prompted us to promote Be the Match, so that we can begin to change those numbers and increase the registry for everyone but in particular for our Black brothers and sisters,” said Steve Buie, president of the Akron Rotary Club, one of the organizers of the event in collaboration with the university and 100 Black Men of Akron.

“It’s about saving lives, and especially for men and women and children who have blood cancer,” he said.

Inclusion in the registry is a five-minute process requiring only a cheek swab and completion of paperwork. Registering does not bind a person to donate bone marrow in the future, but those who are most likely to donate in the future are encouraged to sign up. Once in the registry, people will remain there until their early 60s and may be called on to donate bone marrow if they so choose.

Anybody 18 and older is eligible to be part of the registry. The event hopes to draw people from the 18-to-35 age bracket, as they yield the best outcomes for patients. Buie encouraged high school students, college students and young professionals to attend the registry drive.

Michael Irby, president of 100 Black Men of Akron, emphasized the groups' efforts to recruit more donors from Black communities and communities of color.

“I’m just hoping and pushing that we get those numbers that we are looking for and also just the awareness of how important this is to people,” he said.

Buie and Irby attributed the low numbers to a lack of awareness.

“There’s an old saying that I hold to … People don’t know what people don’t know. If you’ve never heard of it, you’ve never heard of it,” said Buie.

“The minorities are just not educated enough about the need and I think that’s the No. 1 problem that we have right now,” Irby said, adding that misinformation, distrust of the medical community among communities of color and not enough outreach to them as additional factors that contribute to the lack of diversity in the donor registry.

Leading the recruitment efforts on the campus are a group of nine Black male University of Akron students — The Collegiate 100 — who are mentored by Irby’s organization, 100 Black Men of Akron.

Irby said that the students are working on numerous initiatives within the city of Akron and on campus to build healthier, more resilient communities, and that the Zips Zap Cancer Event is one of their first.

The Zips Zap Cancer Event will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily at different locations at the University of Akron.

On April 12, it will take place on the third or fifth floor of the Polsky Building on 225 South Main St. Signs at the entrance to the building will direct visitors to the correct floor.

On April 13, the event will be in the Tommy Evans Lounge at the James A. Rhodes Arena (the JAR) on 373 Carroll St.

The final day of the event, April 14, will take place at the Piano Lounge of the Student Union on 303 Carroll St.

For more information on the Be The Match Registry, visit: https://bethematch.org/about-us/how-we-help-patients/be-the-match-registry/.

Seyma Bayram is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Learn more at reportforamerica.org. Contact her at sbayram@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3327 or on Twitter @SeymaBayram0.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: UA Zips Zap Cancer Event aims to expand bone marrow donor registry