Ole Miss to Host Bone Marrow Swab Events for Greenwood Girl Cate Hargett

A search for a bone marrow donor for 11-year-old Cate Hargett of Greenwood drew volunteers and students to Business Row on the Ole Miss campus Thursday and Friday, as the University of Mississippi partnered with the National Marrow Donor Program to host two registry swab events in her name.

The drives ran Thursday, March 19, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday, March 20, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. NMDP volunteers were on hand to walk eligible participants through registration, which requires nothing more than a cotton swab rubbed along the inside of the cheek to collect cells for testing. The process takes only a few minutes, and no needles or blood draws are involved.

Organizers specifically encouraged adults between 18 and 35 to participate, citing research showing younger donors typically provide the best transplant outcomes for patients.

The Ole Miss events were part of a wider week of drives across north Mississippi and the Delta. Candi Stone, reporting for Delta News, described a schedule that included a drive at Delta State University on Monday, a drive in Clarksdale on Tuesday, and a stop at Kirk Auto in Grenada on Wednesday before the two-day run at Ole Miss. "Our community response has been unbelievable," Stone said. "The city of Greenwood in particular, our friends and family have really rallied behind Kate."

The momentum behind Cate's case has been building since late February, when Mississippi State University held a drive at the Colvard Student Union on Feb. 24 and 25. That event, also organized in partnership with NMDP and DKMS, resulted in 1,002 MSU students registering as potential bone marrow donors. Cate herself tabled at the Colvard Student Union during the MSU drive.

Cate's mother has urged anyone in good health between 18 and 35 to join the registry. "It's a simple cheek swab. That's it," she said. "You stay on the registry until 61 and only move forward if you are ever matched, and you can always ask questions before committing."

Those who missed the Ole Miss events can still register from home. Texting "TeamCate" to 61474 prompts NMDP to mail a free cheek swab kit with a prepaid return package. Individuals between 18 and 55 can also register through DKMS at dkms.org/swabforcate, which provides the same prepaid return option. The NMDP's priority window for registration is ages 18 to 35, though DKMS accepts registrants up to age 55.