Community members are holding a marrow drive today for Briarhill Middle School seventh grader Audrey Gronberg, who has severe aplastic anemia, a rare condition in which the body can no longer produce enough blood cells. According to her mother, Kim Gronberg, Audrey was diagnosed in early December after getting routine blood work at a doctor’s appointment. 

“We found out that she had what they call ‘less than five percent cellularity’ in her bone marrow, which means that there weren’t any cells in there making new blood cells,” Kim said.

The registration drive will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at McAuliffe Elementary School. Those interested in donating can drive to the front of the school, swab their cheeks while remaining in their cars and get registered to be a potential donor. The registration is free for people between the ages of 18 and 44, but costs $100 for those outside the age range. Minors must have parental consent to donate.

Community member Tamara Lisby, who helped organize the drive, said that the process only takes about 10 minutes.

“It’s a simple cheek swab,” Lisby said. “And we’ll have you in and out of there as quick as we possibly can.”

The owner of Southern Drawl Barbecue has also offered to park a food truck by the marrow drive and donate some of the proceeds to the Gronbergs, who are planning on donating the money to the Ronald McDonald foundation. Lisby describes the Gronbergs as “extremely generous” people who invest plenty of money and time in local causes, so she hopes to see a big turnout in support of Audrey later today.

“Any way that we can give back to this family is [imperative], we just have to,” Lisby said.

The ultimate goal of the drive is to find a marrow match for Audrey, as Kim said that the diagnosis has taken a toll on her daughter. The anemia makes Audrey highly susceptible to infections and causes her to be in and out of the hospital. Her medication also gives her severe head and body aches. 

“Audrey has always been the most responsible, positive child, and she’s still trying to hold on to that, but it’s hard when you’re just faced with all of this uncertainty and your body’s hurting,” Kim said. “She’s had some tough times.”

While Kim said that Audrey has a rare allele that makes finding a marrow match difficult, people who register today could still help others who are facing the same struggles as her daughter.

“The reality is, it’s hard to find a match,” Kim said. “But I’m confident that if someone … is not a match for Audrey, they could be a match for someone else just like Audrey that desperately needs someone to save their life as well.”

To increase chances of Audrey finding a match and getting the treatment she needs, Lisby urges anybody who can attend the marrow drive to participate. However, those who are interested in registering but cannot attend the drive today can text AUDREY to 61474 or follow the instructions on join.bethematch.org/audrey.

“It only takes one person,” Lisby said. “And we have to have that one perfect person to match Audrey.”