 The NERMHC is proud to partner with Swab a Cheek, Save a Life, a campaign of the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation. You will be able to become part of the bone marrow registry during the conference. All it requires is a swab of the cheek to become a potential life saving donor. Not only will we be able to encourage minority bone marrow donors, but we will also raise awareness about this racial/ethnic disparity. Look for their exhibit table at the conference!
The mission of Swab a Cheek, Save a Life is simple: to increase the numbers of minority bone marrow donors enrolled in the bone marrow registry.
Tragically, minorities are severely underrepresented in the bone marrow registry. This means that it is much more difficult for a minority to find a bone marrow donor and have a successful transplant.
Here is a breakdown of donors in the national bone marrow registry, by race*:
- 73% White 9% Hispanic or Latino
- 8% African American or Black
- 7% Asians
- 3% Multiracial
- >1% American Indian/Alaska Native
*National Marrow Donor Program, cited in Wall Street Journal, May 27, 2009.
Most often, bone marrow transplant patients need a donor who is of the same ethnic or racial background. We are working in conjunction with the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation because of their success in recruiting minority donors of Jewish ethnicity into the registry. In 1991, if you were Jewish and needed a transplant there was less than a 1% chance of finding a match because there were no Jews in the bone marrow registry. Due to the targeted recruitment efforts of the Gift of Life organization, Jews today have up to a 70% chance of finding a match, and the Swab a Cheek, Save a Life Campaign is committed to the same success rate for all minorities.
http://www.giftoflife.org/
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