National Marrow Donor Program


Home > News & Events > Feature Articles > APAMSA Encourages Asian-Americans to Join the NMDP Donor Registry (04/01/2004)

Connecting with Asian and Pacific Islander Medical Students

APAMSA Encourages Asian-Americans to Join the NMDP Donor Registry

APAMSA LogoDuring April, the Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association (APAMSA) is responding to the need for more donors for patients needing a blood stem cell transplant. APAMSA is encouraging Asian-American medical students to learn about blood stem cell transplants and to join the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) Registry of potential volunteer donors so patients may have a second chance at life.

Each year, more than 30,000 people are diagnosed with life-threatening diseases for which a marrow or blood stem cell transplant may offer the only chance for a cure. These diseases affect people from all racial and ethnic backgrounds, but Asian and Pacific Islander patients face a greater challenge in finding matching stem cell donors.

Stem cell transplants require matching certain tissue traits of the donor and patient. Because these traits are inherited, a patient's most likely match is with someone of the same racial or ethnic background. Asian and Pacific Islander patients will have a greater chance of finding matching donors when more Asian and Pacific Islander people join the Registry and become committed donors.

APAMSA Partners with the NMDP to Save Lives

APAMSA is a national organization that aims to address issues important to Asian-American medical students. In 2001, APAMSA and its local chapters launched a national initiative called Asian Pacific American Donors Can Save Lives. To date, APAMSA and its chapters have educated and recruited more than 5,000 Asian and Pacific Islander potential donors to the NMDP donor Registry. Many of these potential donors are medical students, residents and physicians.

APAMSA now designates the month of April for education and recruitment activities at medical schools across the country. Its objectives are:

  • Recruitment: To conduct an education and recruitment campaign with the goals of recruiting at least 1,000 donors to the Registry, with a special goal of recruiting donors from ethnically and racially diverse communities.
  • Professional Education: To enlist active participation of medical students from ethnically diverse communities in training and education on the importance of becoming a life-saving marrow and blood stem cell donor.
  • Community Involvement: To create strong community programs and to empower Asian and Pacific Islanders to be involved in community-driven strategies to help patients and save lives.
  • Donor Retention: To confirm the commitment of Asian and Pacific Islander donors already on the NMDP donor Registry.

April Events

Educational and recruitment events in April will include at least 27 APAMSA chapters and 22 donor centers and recruitment groups. For more information, contact your local APAMSA chapter at http://www.apamsa.org/membership2.php.




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