NORFOLK, Va. – For the third year in a row, Norfolk State University hosted a bone marrow drive in conjunction with the non-profit Be the Match Registry® Program. This year's drive was co-sponsored by the NSU chapter of Chi Alpha Sigma and the Spartan bowling team.

A total of 68 people signed up for the registry on April 14 at the NSU Student Center as part of National Volunteer Appreciation Week. In order to sign up for the program, volunteers needed to fill out a simple questionnaire about their medical history and personal information and then prepare several cheek swabs.

"We were very pleased with the turnout we had this year, which was the most since we began hosting this event several years ago," said assistant athletics academic coordinator and bowling head coach Wilhelmenia Harrison. "As we expanded our reach more and more into the university community, we were also pleased to hear from people who said they had already signed up in years past."

Be The Match was created by the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) to provide opportunities for the public to become involved in saving the lives of people with leukemia, lymphoma and other life-threatening diseases by matching donors with patients. It is the world's largest and most diverse listing of potential marrow donors and donated cord blood units.

Be the Match Registry® is looking for 18-44 year-olds in good health and willing to donate if they are a match. They will only be contacted by the organization if they are found to be a match for someone in need. For more information, visit BeTheMatch.org or call 1-800 MARROW-2.

Monetary donations are also welcomed.