Each year more than 10,000 children and adults with life-threatening diseases need a bone marrow or cord blood transplant from an unrelated donor. A bone marrow or cord blood transplant (also called a BMT) replaces a patient's diseased blood-forming cells with healthy cells.
A well-matched donor is important to the success of a transplant. Doctors look for a marrow donor or cord blood unit with a human leukocyte antigen (HLA) tissue type that closely matches the patient's. HLA are proteins, or markers, that the immune system uses to recognize the cells that belong in the body and those that do not.
Because tissue type is inherited, you might expect that a family member would be the best match. However, only 30% of patients will have a relative who matches and is able to donate. The other 70% need someone like you to donate their healthy marrow.
Even with over 11 million potential marrow donors and cord blood units available worldwide, patients of racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds are finding matches less often. Because tissue type is most likely to match someone of the same race and ethnicity, donors of these racial and ethnic heritages are especially needed:
- Black or African-American
- American Indian or Alaska Native
- Asian
- Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
- Hispanic or Latino
A close match between a patient's and donor's tissue type can improve the chances of a successful transplant. When a patient searches for a donor, sometimes he or she finds a closely matched donor, sometimes not. A patient could be waiting for someone like you.
