Five minutes.
Accent Speakers Bureau chairman Corey Portnoy said that’s how long it took to save his father, who received a bone marrow transplant in May while battling a rare form of cancer.
“Because someone took five minutes out of their life to register, he has a second chance at life,” he said.
With the help of Accent, volunteer program Footprints Buddy and Support Program will hold Dance Marrow-Thon, the first bone marrow donor registration drive to be held at Dance Marathon at UF.
Students can register Saturday between 9 p.m. and midnight. at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
“I see a lot of kids waiting for bone marrow transplants, and this is a way to get out there and fight for them,” said Erica Sokol, president of Footprints.
Footprints, which helps kids and families in the Pediatric Oncology/Hematology Unit at Shands, registered 2,277 people in its first three drives.
At Florida State University’s DM last month, Footprints registered 824 people in 16 hours.
The goal for Saturday’s drive is to register 1,000 people in three hours, Sokol said.
Registration is open to anyone between the ages of 18 and 60 who is in good health, she said. Factors that would make a person ineligible include a history of cancer or a heart attack.
The donor registration process involves completing a consent form and undergoing four cheek swabs.
“Any time between now and when you are not eligible any more at 61, you can be found to be a match,” Sokol said. “But the odds are about one in 1,000.”
She added that if a match is found, Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation will conduct further testing and will coordinate the actual donation.
