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GAONMDP Report Released to Congressional CommitteesMINNEAPOLIS -- October 28, 2002 The General Accounting Office (GAO) released its report to congressional committees on the National Marrow Donor Program® (NMDP) on Friday, October 18, 2002. "The report validates the direction of our mission and strategies," said NMDP Chief Operating Officer Patricia Coppo. "As a nonprofit organization committed to increasing patient access to stem cell therapy, the NMDP is focused on increasing enrollment and availability of donors, particularly donors from ethnic and racial minorities; eliminating barriers to transplantation; and improving the efficiency of the donor search process." Donor RecruitmentThe GAO report recognizes that the efforts of the NMDP have resulted in significant growth of the Registry. In the last 10 years, the number of minority donors has increased 10-fold from 80,000 to more than 1 million. Since 1997, the number of African American donors has increased 37%; Asian/Pacific Islanders, 48%; Hispanic/Latinos, 53%; and American Indian/Alaska Natives, 30%. The NMDP remains committed to developing and implementing new programs to further increase enrollment, education and retention of minority bone marrow and stem cell donors. Access to TransplantThe NMDP shares the GAO's concern that stem cell transplantation is underutilized and that many patients who might benefit from the therapy do not have access to transplantation. The NMDP has established programs to address key barriers to transplant therapy, including efforts to address insurance coverage and financial issues, and patient and physician education programs to encourage appropriate, timely referral for transplantation. As a result, we have seen utilization of the Registry increase each year. Improved access to stem cell transplantation, particularly for minority populations, will continue to require a coordinated effort involving Transplant Centers, Donor Centers, Apheresis Centers, Cord Blood Banks, Recruitment Groups, referring physicians, the government, payers and the NMDP. Standards and ProceduresThe NMDP is working closely with our Network of Donor Centers, Collection Centers and Transplant Centers to enhance the efficiency of the donor search process. To address these challenges, the NMDP is continuing to create services and processes that more quickly identify matched donors, and reduce the time and cost of stem cell donation. The full GAO report, titled "Bone Marrow Transplants: Despite Recruitment Successes, National Program May be Underutilized," can be viewed on the GAO Web site. The NMDP is committed to its mission to extend and improve life through innovative stem cell therapies. As of September 30, 2002, the NMDP has facilitated almost 15,000 transplants throughout the world for patients with life-threatening diseases such as leukemia and aplastic anemia, as well as certain immune system and genetic disorders. The NMDP offers searching patients who do not have suitable family donors a single point of access for all three types of stem cells used in transplantation: marrow, peripheral blood and umbilical cord blood. Through its extensive U.S. and international Network, the NMDP manages the largest and most diverse Registry of volunteer donors, including more than 25,000 cord blood units. Matching donors to patients is only part of the NMDP's lifesaving mission. The NMDP also provides support for patients and physicians and conducts research studies aimed at increasing opportunities for and improving the outcomes of stem cell transplants. For more information about the NMDP, call (800) MARROW-2. Media Contact:
Helen Ng, National Marrow Donor Program,(612) 627-5886 or (612) 747-2520 (cell). |
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