Friends of Will marrow drive

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Advisory Cranbury Boy Scout Needs Bone Marrow Transplant! HLA Bone Marrow Registry Drive On June 21st to Help 12 Year-Old!
Twelve-year old Will Ellsworth of Cranbury, son of Dina and Ken Ellsworth, desperately needs to find a bone marrow match to cure his aplastic anemia. Will has two sisters and a brother, he loves to play lacrosse and participate in his Boy Scout Troop activities.

Aplastic anemia is a rare bone marrow disease reducing Will's capacity to produce red blood cells or platelets, making it impossible for Will's body to fight infection. Will has had many blood and platelet transfusions, along with immunosuppressive therapy. A bone marrow transplant would replace Will's old marrow and start producing healthy blood. His best chance now is a bone marrow transplant, with a perfectly matched donor giving him a 90 percent chance of beating the disease.

The HLA Registry at Community Blood Services will hold a bone marrow donor registration drive in honor of Will. The drive is being sponsored by the Cranbury Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 68, in hopes of finding Will a lifesaving match and helping other patients who need marrow transplants.

A "Friends of Will" marrow drive will be held on Saturday, June 21, 2014, at the Cranbury Methodist Church located at 21 North Main Street from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The public is urged to stop by on June 21st and spend about 10 to 20 minutes registering for the national Be The Match registry by getting a simple cheek swab and completing a short health form. To register you must be 18-44 years of age, willing to donate for any patient in the world, and meet the health guidelines. Once in the registry, you are available for Will and patients like Will who need bone marrow transplants. You will remain on the registry until your 61st birthday.

If you are 45-60 years of age you can register online at Will's virtual or online drive. Will's virtual drive will run from June 7th through July 31st, 2014. Will's promo code is WILLE2014. You would register by going to www.bethematch.org. You would fill out your registration form online and enter Will's promo code when asked. You will receive your cheek swab kit in the mail. Once you do, you swab and send it back to Be The Match. You are now registered.

If you cannot register at the June 21st drive but wish to help in another way, you can help fund the family's efforts by sending in a contribution to help defer the cost of adding new members to the registry. Every $100 raised helps add a member to the registry. A check can be made out to the Be The Match Foundation and mailed to The HLA Registry, 201 Chestnut Ridge Road, Montvale, NJ 07645. A donation box will be available at the drive as well.

Anyone interested in more information about registering or in learning more about bone marrow stem cell donations can call Kathy Young at The HLA Registry, 201-705-1615, or visit www.communitybloodservices.com.

The members of the Cranbury Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 68 would like to thank you for taking the time to read this community announcement and for your continued support.

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