Nov. 12, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Beginning Tuesday, the Penn State men's lacrosse team will begin a three-day swab drive at the HUB Robeson Center. Tuesday's drive will run Noon to 5 p.m. and continue Wednesday (9 a.m.-3 p.m.) and Thursday (9 a.m.-3 p.m.).
The drive, which in search for a bone marrow match for Kim Roper, mother of senior Drew Roper (Columbus, Ohio), will receive help from multiple entities such as the Penn State Student-Athlete Advisory Board, athletic training student staff, field hockey team and PSU Panhellenic Council. Kim Roper has non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and underwent chemotherapy last week and needs a bone marrow transplant to beat the disease.
Participants who would like to get swabbed can visit the information table in the main hall near the eateries. The swab sample process takes approximately 10 minutes.
The Roper family has set up several ways to submit swabs for the national bone marrow data base. Their website, Match4Kim.com, is dedicated to help Kim Roper, and tens of thousands more, beat cancer. The swabs will be submitted to the National Marrow Donor Program. Participants between the ages of 18-44 are sought out as the most viable donors.
Swab Drive Schedule
Tuesday, Nov. 13: Noon - 5 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 14: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 15: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Kim Roper was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2009, initially going into remission after radiation therapy. The cancer returned in 2010 after a one-year evaluation and Roper underwent a five-month chemotherapy treatment until June 2010. Six weeks later, tumors were found to grow slowly.
This past September, the cancer spread and the best option for treatment is inpatient chemotherapy followed by a bone marrow transplant.
For more information, please visit www.Match4Kim.com, follow @Match4Kim on Twitter and check out the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/match4kim.
To visit the National Marrow Donor Program, use the code "match4kim" to complete the online form.
--NITTANY LIONS--