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Global Collaboration and NMDP Technology Saves Patients
On Nov.16, 2005, the world's transplant community came together to recognize the 10 million individuals who have registered as volunteer bone marrow or blood cell donors. This includes participants from 56 donor registries in 41 countries and 38 cord blood banks in 21 countries. Facilitating any transplant is a complex undertaking. It requires a high degree of coordination between many people with wide-ranging expertise in cutting-edge medical science and technology. The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) is proud to play a key role in this milestone. Every physician searching for a transplant donor for their patient through the NMDP has access to more than 9 million of the donors on this global donor listing -- including the NMDP's own Registry of more than 5.5 million donors and 45,000 cord blood units. Šárka and Monica's storyŠárka and her family live in a small town in southern Moravia, Czech Republic. Šárka's transplant donor lived across the globe. Monica, a mother of three and resident of Florida in the United States, had joined the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) Registry years before. Šárka's donor was located on NMDP's Registry through a search process made possible by NMDP's suite of computer applications and supporting software, including the Search, Tracking and Registry (STAR®) System."My family thought that I shouldn't donate -- that I should think of my own children," Monica said. "But I thought, 'What if that was my daughter?' Even though I was scared, I knew I had to do it." Šárka was transfused with Monica's bone marrow in 2003. An international courier hand-carried Monica's marrow from Florida to the Czech Republic. Her mom sat beside her holding her hand as the life-saving cells that had traveled 4,000 miles flowed through an IV into her daughter. Monica said, "Once I made up my mind to do it, donating marrow for Šárka was a gift from my heart. But I feel blessed...I believe that being able to help Šárka was really a gift to me." Ivo and Sue's storyIvo and his parents, also of the Czech Republic, had a similar experience. Ivo was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and his parents were told that he would need a bone marrow transplant. Because Ivo was an only child, they would need to find a suitable unrelated donor. Through a search of the NMDP Registry, his donor was found in Cleveland in the United States. Ivo's triumph over his illness and his donor Sue's commitment highlight the tremendous success of donor recruitment worldwide.As a leader in the field, the NMDP plays a vital role in overcoming barriers to transplant, and bringing together all of the people and resources needed to make life-saving transplants a reality for people like Šárka and Ivo. |
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