DATE: Thursday, September 18, 1997          TAG: 9709170205

SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS         PAGE: 07   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JOAN C. STANUS, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   30 lines

BLACK GROUPS SPONSOR BONE MARROW DRIVE

Thirteen African-American fraternities and sororities in the South Hampton Roads Pan Hellenic Council are joining with the Hampton Roads Urban Bankers Association to provide hope - and possibly a cure - to other blacks in the area suffering from devastating illnesses.

In what they believe is the first of its kind, the groups will sponsor a bone marrow donation drive specifically targeted at African Americans. The drive will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, in Norfolk State University's Godwin Hall.

``Each day thousands of African Americans of all ages face the frightening dilemma of life-threatening illnesses that could possibly be cured by bone marrow treatment,'' noted one of the organizers, Yvonne Lewis of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. ``As a race, we tend not to involve ourselves with such crises until our lives are directly shattered. Then we look to other races for help.''

The organizations want to change that. By joining with the American Red Cross Bone Marrow Program, organization officials maintain they can make a ``significant impact within our community'' for people with such illnesses as sickle cell anemia, cancer and other blood disorders through donor typing.

At the drive, a blood test will be administered to determine tissue type. Eventually, each individual's tissue type will then be added to the National Marrow Donor Program Registry for a possible match.

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