October 21, 2009 - 10:27 a.m. EST

CARO — To honor the memory of a local child, a nationwide bone marrow donor organization has organized a donor drive in hopes of saving a life.

Last April, Adrian Gerber of Caro lost his three-year battle with leukemia. DKMS will now host a bone marrow donor drive in his honor this Saturday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the McComb Elementary School, 303 N. Hooper St.

Donors must be between the age of 18 and 55, and be in good physical health.

Anyone who signs up to be a donor will have their cheek swabbed, and the sample will be put into the national registry of bone marrow donors. If the donor is found to be a match, he or she will be contacted by a DKMS representative who will guide them through the entire donation process.

There are two ways to donate: bone marrow donation or Peripheral Blood Stem Cell. Both are outpatient procedures, and the method is determined by the patient’s doctor.

DKMS will also be accepting monetary donations to cover the $65 registration cost.

The event is being organized by Sandra Nicol, who will also provide baked goods for fund-raising at the donor drive.

Gerber was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in February at the age of eight. Even with his illness, he was still very positive and would often joke with the doctors and nurses at the hospital.

Gerber never made it to a transplant, and passed away on April 26, five days after his 12th birthday, at his Caro home surrounded by his family.

“You never think it’s going to happen to you,” said Gerber’s father, Randy.

“You never think you’re going to have a kid who gets sick and dies. But it can happen to anyone. Please come to the DKMS donor drive and register as a bone marrow donor. You could be the life-saving match for another child like Adrian. Let’s show my son that we can pull together in this great community he called home.”

He also said he plans to attend the donor drive and sign up to be a donor, as do several other family members.

“It’s what he would have wanted,” said Gerber.

“We’ll do anything to help advance treatment, and help someone in that situation.

Every five minutes, someone is diagnosed with blood cancer, such as leukemia and lymphoma. Every 10 minutes, blood cancer takes a life. Currently, only three in 10 patients will receive the transplant that can save their life. DKMS is hoping with more volunteers that ratio can be changed for the better.