SCREENING SET MAY 18
BCC Gospel Concert Will Help Cover
Cost Of Bone Marrow Donor Testing
A May 14 gospel concert sponsored by the Bruns
wick Community College chapter of The National
Technical-Vocational Honor Society will raise funds to
help cover the cost of a bone marrow donor testing
program Wednesday, May 18, at the college.
The concert will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, May
14, in the Odell Williamson Auditorium on the BCC
campus. The Guiding Lights, The Kingsway Trio, Von
Ferguson and the Coastal Voices, the Cedar Grove
Young Adult Choir, the Mount Zion Male Chorus and
possibly other local groups will participate.
Tickets are $5 per person and are available from
honor society members and from the Hop Shop,
Yaupon Beach; Kingsway Christian Book and Music,
Shallottc; and Howard's BP Station in Bolivia.
Seating for the handicapped can be arranged by
contacting cither honor society Vice President Karen
Thompson, 253-7365, or President Kim Jones, 278
9651, in advance of the concert.
All proceed"; will help pay the cost of testing po
tential bone marrow donors.
The only cost to bone marrow donors is the initial
test that costs $60. The honor society qualifies for 50
percent community matching funds, which reduces the
cost of the local testing to $30 per person. The society
is trying to raise the difference, so no one will have to
pay to volunteer as a donor.
"My biggest fear is that we're not going to raise
enough money to cover the number of people who
show up for the test on May 18." said Society Vice
President Karen Thompson. "The auditorium seats
1,500. We've printed 1,000 tickets. I hope we have to
print more."
While the society is aware of several families in
southeastern North Carolina in need of donors, the
May 18 testing is not an effort to identify potential
matches for any particular patient, but to help increase
the bank of potential donors nationwide.
Testing will be open to the public on a first-come,
first-served basis from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Multi
purpose Room at BCC's Supply campus. Donations to
help cover the cost of the testing will be welcomed.
Support for the group project has ballooned on the
BCC campus, said Thompson.
The idea was sparked when she visited her sister's
church about four months ago. For a woman in the
congregation a bone marrow transplant was the last al
ternative for treatment.
"She was going to be relying on the kindness of
someone she didn't know," said Thompson. "I know
that if it were me, 1 would be on my knees praying (for
a match). I would want someone to do it for me, so I
should be willing to do it for someone else."
Fellow honor society members felt the same way,
especially after hearing a speaker from the American
Red Cross who spoke about the bone marrow donor
program and the difficulty in making a match.
There are more than 1 million potential donors in
the United States registry, including 42,000 in North
Carolina. Even with that many would-be donors and
reciprocal searches with other countries, only 30 per
cent of the demand for bone marrow donations is be
ing met.
"There's a one in 20,000 chance of matching, in
creasing to 1 in 4 among siblings," said Thompson.
"They desperately need African American and Native
American donors because it is hard to find a match
outside your own ethnic origin."
More than 60 diseases can be cured through use of
hone marrow, though its most widely known use is in
treating leukemia, she said.
On May 18 the testing will be conducted by the
Charlotte center of the American Red Cross, which
operates the area's National Marrow Donor Program
Center.
Anyone who is between the ages of 18 and 55 and
in good health qualifies as a potential donor.
"The same conditions that would keep you from
giving blood would keep you from doing this," said
Thompson.
The testing involves drawing two tubes of blood.
The first will be tested for four of six antigens?sub
stances that stimulate production of antibodies, pro
teins in the blood that provide immunity. The remain
ing tube is frozen. If a match is found for the first four
antigens, the center asks permission to test the remain
ing vial for the other two antigens.
If all six match, then the potential donor undergoes
more testing, including a physical, and counseling.
If the match proceeds, marrow is harvested on an
out-patient basis at one of two locations: University
Hospitals in Chapel Hill or Baptist Hospital in
Winston-Salem. All donor's expenses are covered, in
cluding mileage to and from the site and accommoda
tions for two.
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Tranquilizer Guns' Use OKed
To Subdue Vicious Animals
BY ERIC CARLSON
The Brunswick County Board of
Health on Monday authorized the
use of tranquilizer guns by animal
control officers for immobilizing
dangerous or vicious animals that
cannot be captured safely by other
means.
Animal Control Supervisor Greg
Thompson asked the board to adopt
a new policy allowing him to pur
chase the weapons and drugs and to
train his staff in their use.
The new policy rescinds a 1985
health department rule forbidding
the use of tranquilizer guns by ani
mal control employees without di
rect assistance from N.C. Wildlife
officers or the Brunswick County
Sheriff's Department.
"I'm not sure why that policy was
adopted, but I suspect it was because
tranquilizer equipment wasn't as re
liable and effective as it is today,"
Thompson told the board.
Thompson saio modern tranquil
izer guns are more humane and safer
to use than firearms. They also en
hance the animal control officer's
ability to capture a vicious or dan
gerous animal. Today's tranquilizing
drugs are also much better than
those available ten years ago, he
said.
"It will also rive us another op
tion besides deadly force," Thomp
son said. "Right now all we have are
regular firearms, which could be
more dangerous than the animal it
self."
Currently, if a dangerous animal
cannot be captured by any other
means, department personnel may
be authorized to shoot it.
The new health department policy
specifies that "remote chemical im
mobilization projectors" will be han
dled in the same careful manner as
conventional firearms and will be
stored in a gun safe when not in use.
Thompson said the guns come in
two types, a pistol and rifle. He told
the board that only one of each
would be needed initially. The
weapons will not be kept on animal
control vehicles.
Only animal control personnel
who have successfully completed a
course in the use of chemical immo
bilization equipment will be autho
rized to use the weapons. Accurate
records are to be kept on the type
and amount of drugs used. The
drugs are to be locked in a safe
when not in use.
Prior approval must be obtained
from the animal control supervisor
or the county health director before
the tranquilizer darts can be used on
an animal.
At this time, Thompson is the on
ly animal control employee trained
and authorized to use tranquilizer
guns. Now. with authorization from
the board, he hopes to eventually
have several staff members trained
in their use.
Monday's meeting was a recessed
session of the health board's regular
monthly meeting.
In other business, the board:
? Discussed the need for salary
increases in the environmental
health section. The department's
current low wage scale has made it
difficult for the county to attract and
keep qualified environmental health
specialists, according to health
board member Bruce Quaintance.
who chairs a committee studying the
problem.
? Members Patricia Nutter, Dr.
Brad Kerr, Dr. Jeffrey Mintz and
Thompson were appointed to a com
mittee that will make recommenda
tions for a new policy on the spay
ing and neutering of animals adopt
ed at the county animal shelter.
Three members of the public will al
so be chosen to sit on the committee.
? Agreed to establish an annual
"Employee of the Year" award to be
given to a top health department
worker every fall. Nominations will
be collected from department staff
each October and reviewed by a
committee of the health board.
? Adopted a "Zero Tolerance For
Rudeness" policy under which for
mal reprimands can be given if the
director determines that a health de
partment employee has been rude to
a citizen seeking services.
ymQQ
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