When Hurricane Katrina hit, cancer patients with acute conditions were among the thousands of critically ill patients scattered across the country without access to specialized physicians and medical resources. Many of these patients were transplant patients urgently searching the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) Registry for a marrow donor or cord blood unit and recently transplanted patients at serious risk for life-threatening complications.

The mission of NMDP is to find marrow donors and cord blood units for patients in need. But, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the NMDP is working to locate displaced transplant patients and families. For transplant patients, timely treatment is critical. A patient's condition can worsen and delays in their treatment can be dangerous. It is important that these patients receive prompt medical care wherever they have relocated. With a network of more than 150 medical centers which perform transplants, the NMDP can help displaced transplant patients and their families -- and the physicians who may have assumed their care -- connect to transplant centers which can support continuation of their treatment.

NMDP Office of Patient Advocacy case managers are available to assist displaced patients to address issues including cultural and language barriers or financial and insurance challenges in order to restore critical care needs. NMDP can also assist the physicians who may have assumed the care of these patients to connect them to the specialized medical care required for bone marrow or cord blood transplant. Patients, their caregivers and physicians can contact NMDP case managers for assistance at 1 (888) 999-6743.

In addition, The Marrow Foundation^®, fund-raising partner to the NMDP, has established Operation LifeGift, an emergency fund for Hurricane Katrina victims seeking marrow or cord blood transplants. To contribute or to learn more, see the story on the foundation’s Web site at www.themarrowfoundation.org.