Media Advisory

May 8th, 2008

The Sturbridge Police and Fire Associations, in conjunction with the University of Massachusetts Medical Center and Sturbridge Host Hotel, will be holding a bone marrow donor drive on May 22nd, from 8 A.M. until 4 P.M, at the Host Hotel in Sturbridge.

This drive seeks to obtain as many individuals as possible to attend and submit saliva samples to UMASS medical professionals, in an attempt to match these samples with patients in need of bone marrow transplants. One of these patients, currently in need of a bone marrow match, is 5 year old Nicholas Mercier. Nicholas is the son of Traci and Kevin Mercier. Kevin is a police sergeant with the Sturbridge Police Department. This is little Nicholas’ second battle with Leukemia, and this drive is being held in his honor.

There is no out of pocket expense to anyone submitting a sample at the drive. People are requested, however, to bring an insurance card to the drive, if possible, so that UMASS can check to see if there are any re-imbursement agreements with the individual insurance companies. These re-imbursements are strictly for the cost associated with processing these obtained samples. Again, THERE WILL BE NO OUT OF POCKET EXPENSES FOR ANYONE DONTATING A SAMPLE.

Also, individuals of all blood types are encouraged to attend.

Please pass this on to as many people as possible, as we truly hope to save lives with this donor drive!

Anyone with questions is asked to contact Detective Mark Saloio or Sgt. Michael Cloutier, at the Stubridge Police Department.

Detective Mark Saloio 508-347-2525 ext 112
Sgt. Michael Cloutier 508-347-2525 ext 139