AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Luminex
Corporation (NASDAQ: LMNX) today announced that they have
joined forces again this year with the National Marrow Donor
Program – Be The Match® to raise awareness of the need for
additional bone marrow donors to help save lives. In addition to
sponsoring the 18th Annual Marrow Ambassadors Golf Tournament,
Luminex will be conducting a donor drive at the event, which will
be held at Twin Creeks Country Club in Cedar Park, Texas.
(Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100104/LUMINEXLOGO)
Every year, thousands of people of all ages are diagnosed with
blood cancers like leukemia or lymphoma, sickle cell anemia or
other life-threatening diseases. Many of them will die unless
they get a bone marrow or cord blood transplant from
a matching donor. However, medical advances are making
marrow and umbilical cord blood transplants available to more
patients all the time. Since beginning operations in 1987,
the Be The Match® registry has grown to more than 10 million
donors, and has facilitated over 50,000 transplants. Today,
more than 5,500 transplants are facilitated a year.
Laboratories around the world currently use Luminex
xMAP® Technology to match donors and transplant
recipients, and to monitor post-transplant rejection. Human
Leukocyte Antigens (HLA) found in the blood, are the primary source
of immuno-rejection during transplant. This class of markers is
characterized by numerous genetic mutations, many of which directly
affect the immune response during transplantation. Luminex xMAP®
Technology allows high-resolution genotyping of up to 100 unique
alleles within a single sample volume prior to a patient undergoing
transplant surgery. The same xMAP platform can then be used to
perform immunoassays that test for an antibody response in the
patient post-surgery.
"We are honored to support the efforts of the Marrow Ambassadors
and the National Marrow Donor Program – Be The Match® and to help
raise awareness of the need for additional donors," said
Patrick J. Balthrop, president and
CEO of Luminex. "It is inspiring to all of us at Luminex to
personally meet members of our community that have been brought
together through our technology, and it reinforces our mission of
innovating solutions that save lives."
At this year's event, donor Zach
Moore, a college student who joined the registry through his
university, will meet with the recipient of his marrow transplant,
Shannon Dean Turci, a 38-year-old
mother diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, now in remission.
Also in attendance will be participants from Seton Hospital [and
Central Health], as well as community members leading efforts to
create a medical school here in Austin.
Luminex, a leader in the Austin
biotechnology community, is a strong supporter of the medical
school initiative, which has significant potential to foster
further growth of the biotechnology industry, and continue
innovation of life-saving technologies for patients
worldwide. Sandy Guzman,
Legislative Director to Texas State Senator Kirk Watson, will provide further insight about
the initiative during the dinner program.
About the Marrow Ambassadors Golf Tournament
The 18th Annual Marrow Ambassadors Golf Tournament benefits the
Marrow Donor Programs of Central
and South Texas by providing
tissue-typing funds for donors, and by making matches possible for
patients in need of life-saving bone marrow transplants.
Since 1994, Founder Steele Zinser and the Bone Marrow Ambassadors
have raised funds for hundreds of Central
Texas donors through this annual event.
To register for the golf tournament, visit
http://www.southtexasblood.org/BeTheMatch.asp. For
additional information about joining the donor registry, and
helping to save a life, visit
http://www.marrow.org/Join/Join_the_Registry.aspx or call
Aracely Calzadias, Marrow Recruitment Consultant for the
National Marrow Donor Program – Be The Match in Austin at (512) 206-1331.
About Luminex Corporation
Luminex is committed to applying its passion for innovation
toward advancing healthcare and research worldwide. The company is
transforming global healthcare and life-science research through
the development, manufacturing and marketing of proprietary
instruments and assays utilizing xMAP® open-architecture,
multi-analyte platform, MultiCode® real-time polymerase chain
reaction (PCR), and multiplex PCR-based technologies, that deliver
cost-effective rapid results to clinicians and
researchers. Luminex's technology is commercially available
worldwide and in use in leading clinical laboratories, as well as
major pharmaceutical, diagnostic, biotechnology and life-science
companies. Luminex is meeting the needs of customers in markets as
diverse as clinical diagnostics, pharmaceutical drug discovery,
biomedical research including genomic and proteomic research,
personalized medicine, biodefense research and food safety.
For further information on Luminex Corporation and the
latest advances in multiplexing using award winning technology,
please visit http://www.luminexcorp.com/.
Contact:
Investors:
Matt Scalo
Luminex Corporation
mscalo@luminexcorp.com
512.336.3587
Media:
Mimi
Torrington
Luminex
Corporation
mtorrington@luminexcorp.com
512.219.8020
Aaron
DeLucia
Porter
Novelli
aaron.delucia@porternovelli.com
512.241.2249
SOURCE Luminex Corporation