Pageant winner hosts bone marrow registry drive

Hilary Gushwa, Miss Ventura County International 2006 and founder of the nonprofit organization Heart2Heart, recently hosted a bone marrow drive at St. Matthew's United Methodist Church in Newbury Park.

Due to her efforts, 30 names were added to the National Marrow Donor Program, giving hope to thousands of leukemia patients in need of a transplant.

The City of Hope facilitated this drive and implemented a new procedure, whereby the inside of the mouth was swabbed instead of the usual vial of blood taken.

Gushwa, in conjunction with the City of Hope, will be offering this procedure at the Oktoberfest sponsored by the Newbury Park Rotary scheduled for Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 in Thousand Oaks.

To make a tax-deductible contribution to Gushwa's organization, to find out when and where to get listed on the registry, or would like to find out more about her organization, visit her website at www. heart2heartorg.com.