For Immediate Release: February 3, 2009

Bone Marrow Drive at Asian Branch Library Set for February 14

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( Oakland, CA)— A Bone Marrow Donor Drive sponsored by the Asian American Donor Program (AADP) and the Oakland Public Library will take place at the Asian Branch, 388 9 th Street, Suite 190, on Saturday, February 14 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

If you are willing to be tested for the bone marrow transplant bank, please come to this event. There is no cost for donor tissue typing if you are an ethnic minority or of multi-racial descent thanks to a grant that recognizes the critical shortage of ethnic minority donors (Asian/Pacific Islander, African American, Hispanic/Latino, Native American or Multi-racial). Non-minorities may be asked to make a tax-deductible donation of $25 to help defray the cost of their tissue typing.

The drive has been organized in part to seek a bone marrow donor for Ja-Lih Lee, now at Stanford Medical Center, who served as Coordinator of Children’s Services at the Oakland Public Library from 2002-2007. During her tenure the library system increased the training for children’s librarians and provided expanded services in early childhood literacy, focusing on families with children, five years and younger, as a target group.

When you register as a marrow/stem cell donor, you have the potential to literally save someone’s life. All it takes is a cheek swab and a form. For more information about being a bone marrow donor, see www.aadp.org. For directions and other information about the Asian Branch Library, see www.oaklandlibrary.org or call (510) 238-3400.

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