Minorities Urged to Join During Awareness Month

Donors of Diverse Race and Ethnicity Urgently Needed

An African American patient searching for a donor from the National Marrow Donor Program's^® (NMDP) Registry of volunteer marrow and blood stem cell donors is 30 percent less likely than a Caucasian to identify a suitably matched donor. For Asians and Pacific Islanders the number is 13 percent and for Hispanics the number is 9 percent.

There is an urgent need for people of diverse race and ethnicity to join the NMDP's Registry of potential volunteer marrow and blood stem cells donors. More minorities - specifically African Americans, Asians and Pacific Islanders, Hispanics and American Indians/Alaska Natives - are being asked to join the NMDP Registry during National Marrow Awareness Month this November.

Joining the Registry is a simple process - all it takes is a simple blood test. It is, however, a serious commitment. Potential donors must be between the ages of 18 and 60, in good general health and willing to remain committed to donate for any patient, anywhere in the world, regardless of age, sex, race or ethnicity. The lack of commitment can mean the difference between life and death for the patient.

Hundreds of donor drives will be taking place all over the United States during National Marrow Awareness Month.

The Need

Stem cell transplants require matching certain tissue traits of the donor and patient - traits that can be unique to people of specific ancestry. Because these traits are inherited, a patient's most likely match is someone from his/her own racial or ethnic group. Although it is possible for a minority patient to match a donor from any racial or ethnic group, the most likely match is a person who shares the patient's same racial or ethnic background.

Because more than 1 million minorities have joined the Registry since 1988, significant progress is being made:

*These numbers are based upon finding one HLA-A, HLA-B, and HLA-DR matched donor. However, after an initial match is located, further confirmatory tissue typing may reveal that this donor may not be suitable for the patient. These numbers do not reflect how many patients actually proceed to transplant or the availability of the donor.

Today, unrelated donors - total strangers - have given more than 1,700 minority patients a second chance at life through transplants facilitated by the NMDP. For more information about the need for minority donors, joining the Registry, umbilical cord donation, National Marrow Awareness Month or other ways to help, please call (800) MARROW-2.