The Need and Availability for Marrow and Cord Blood

The Need for Marrow and Cord Blood Transplantation 

by Maya Bryant

• More than 12,000 patients in the US are in need of marrow or umbilical cord blood transplant due to life threatening diseases such as leukemia and lymphoma each year
• Over 2/3 of patients in need of a transplant do not have a matching donor in their family 

Who’s Donating? 
It is the goal of Preserve Our Legacy, inc. to increase the diversity of the registry so minority groups will have increased chances of receiving the life saving transplant they need. Currently the registry is not diverse enough.

What are the chances of finding a match?

• A patient’s likelihood of finding a match is estimated from 66% to 93% depending on race and ethnicity.  
• Some of the barriers to finding a match and receiving a transplant are lack of access to health care, no or limited insurance coverage, lack of timely referral for transplant, decline in health status, and inability to find a matched donor or cord blood unit.

What are the chances of donating?

• It is nearly impossible to determine an individual’s chance in actually carrying on the act of donating. Someone with a more common tissue type will have a higher chance of donating than someone with a rare tissue type, but someone with a rare tissue type could be the only hope for a patient with the very same tissue type.  
• 1 of 40 potential donors on the Be the Match® registry will be called for additional testing to see if they are the best match for a patient
• 1 in 300 will be selected as the best possible donor
• 1 in 540 members will actually donate bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells to a patient
• Some may not carry on with the donation because they are not the best match for the patient; they are hindered from donating because of health issues, a change of health plans, or decide not to donate for personal reasons.

SOURCE: National Marrow Donor Program® and Be The Match® Key Messages, Facts & Figures