Members of the Sigma Nu fraternity and Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority are hosting a bone marrow registration drive today to find a donor match for Krissy Kobata, a 26-year-old woman with myelodysplastic syndrome.
The houses became involved in the donor search because Kobata’s father and mother are alumni of the fraternity and sorority, respectively, said Ramzi Dudum, a second-year study of religion student and an organizer of the drive.
The drive will take place today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Bruin Plaza.
Dudum said that myelodysplastic syndrome causes ineffective production of blood cells and requires a bone marrow transplant.
He added that Kobata has encountered great difficulty in finding a match because of her half-Japanese, half-Caucasian heritage.
Rachel Duysen, a third-year economics student and a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma, said the two houses have been planning the registration drive as part of their philanthropic efforts.
“Krissy’s family has gone through the entire bone marrow donor registry and has not found a match.
“We hope someone at UCLA, particularly from the half-Asian, half-white community, will be her match,” Duysen said. According to an ABC News story on Kobata’s search for a donor, only 180,000 out of the 7 million people in the National Marrow Donor program are from multiracial backgrounds.
The odds are already difficult for patients to find matches, as only a quarter of the 10,000 to 15,000 patients are matched with a donor, said Kelsey Balance, a second-year international development studies student and an organizer of the drive.
Balance encourages students to sign up for the registry, adding that the process is simple and painless.
“All you have to do is fill out some paperwork and get a swab in your cheek,” Balance said.
Dudum added that the process of donating bone marrow is not as complicated or difficult as it used to be.
“It’s done fairly easy. … 70 percent of the time it just involves donating blood,” he said.
Duysen said Kobata will be attending the event to thank community members for contributing to the donor registry.
Duysen added that she hopes the Greek community will have a yearly bone marrow registration drive coming off the initiative put forth this year.