Donors needed during April’s Be The Match Bone Marrow Donation Drive

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) - During the last week of April, Monument Health encourages people to register as potential donors at the Be the Match Bone Marrow Donation Drive. Instead of donating bone marrow on the spot, participants will be added to a database of potential donors so that they can be matched with transplant recipients.

Donation registration events are taking place:

April 21, The Monument, 6-8 p.m.

April 22 and 23, Sam’s Club, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

April 24, Black Hills State University, Rapid City Campus, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

April 27, Monument Health Rapid City Hospital, outside Nourish, 10 a.m.-2: p.m.

April 28, Monument Health Cancer Care Institute, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Every three minutes, someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer like leukemia, and bone marrow transplants are an important treatment option that can save lives. Bone marrow donations are generally safe — most include no medical procedure and are comparable to giving plasma.