DKMS, the world’s biggest non-profit bone marrow donor center, will be holding a bone marrow drive in cooperation with Disney Theatrical Productions, and the cast and crew of “The Lion King” in honor of their fellow cast member, Shannon Tavarez.

Eleven year old Tavarez is one of the many patients badly in need of a bone marrow transplant due to acute leukemia. Tavarez plays the role of young Nala in the Broadway production of “The Lion King” which takes place at the Minskoff Theatre.

There will be two bone drives taking place in Manhattan. One on July 18 at the Encore Senior Center at The Actor’s Chapel (presently known as St. Malachy’s) from 10 AM to 4 PM and another at the Minskoff Theater hosted by the cast and crew of the Broadway production on July 23 at 10 AM to 3 PM.

Anyone aged 18 to 55 can register to be a bone marrow donor. As soon as the eligibility requirements are met, a cheek swab is collected that will be used in profiling the HLA tissue-type of the individual and will be stored in a data bank until a match is made between a patient and the donor. The prospective donors will then be contacted by DKMS which will be followed by a physical exam and a series of lab tests such as blood screening to fully determine the suitability of the donor’s bone marrow for the patient. If it is not a perfect match, the donor’s name will be placed on the DKMS wait list called “Be the Match”. At present, there are about 200 million donors on the list waiting for their perfect patient match.

Lab tests involved in the screening procedure would cost $65 per individual and while DKMS largely relies on benefactors to support these expenditures, people who are willing to go through the screening procedure for bone marrow donation are encouraged to shoulder the lab tests costs if they can.

Log on to matchshannon.com and getswabbed.org for more information on the bone drive events and procedures.