The National Marrow Donor Program^® (NMDP) marks a notable milestone with the facilitation of a special life-giving transplant - its 20,000^th.

Each of the 20,000 patients we have been privileged to serve has a story. In this collection of 24 vignettes titled 20,000 Patients - 20,000 Stories, we share with you a sample of them. At its essence, transplant therapy is a most intense human drama: strangers - donors, physicians, researchers, donor and transplant coordinators - giving of themselves to give a person a second chance at life. Without the human stories, this milestone would ring hollow.

The NMDP and our Network members are proud of our accomplishments. But we remain determined to realize our vision: access to life-giving transplants for all patients in need of one.

Clearly, more work needs to be done:

• More recruitment to support the search to connect patients to donors to increase the chances that patients of all ethnic and racial groups can find an unrelated donor or umbilical cord blood unit;
• More advocacy, outreach and education programs to support patients, donors and doctors throughout the transplant process; and
• More research to advance the science of marrow and blood cell transplant, to identify the best possible match for patients, to extend transplant therapy to a broader range of patients and diseases and to improve outcomes.

As we note this milestone, the NMDP owes special gratitude to the more than 5 million people who have graciously joined our Registry as donor volunteers, and to the mothers who anonymously donated their baby's umbilical cord blood to provide the largest listing of units - more than 35,000 - available for transplant. We also express our appreciation to the many other individuals who support our work. They are the heart of all we do at the NMDP and throughout our Network.

Because of them, we can celebrate a life extended.

And thousands of transplant recipients can say, "I'm still here."

Last Updated: November 2004