YOUR HERITAGE SAVES LIVES
ETHNICALLY DIVERSE DONORS ARE NEEDED NOW
May 5th Cinco de Mayo Marrow Drive and Celebration
Every year, more than 10,000 people are diagnosed with life-threatening blood diseases like leukemia and lymphoma. Often a patient’s only hope for survival is finding an unrelated marrow donor whose tissue type matches their own. About 70 percent of patients are unable to find a compatible donor within their family and must search for an unrelated donor on the Be The Match Registry®. The Hispanic and Latino population only represents 10 percent of the nearly 9 million people on the national registry.
You could be the match for a patient in need. Join Bonfils’ Colorado Marrow Donor Program (CMDP) and CBS4 for a special marrow drive on Saturday, May 5 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Cinco de Mayo marrow drive to join the Be The Match Registry® and give someone a second chance at life. Registration is fast, easy and painless.
What are the eligibility requirements and how do I join?
Anyone age 18 to 60 who is willing to donate to any patient in need and meets the health guidelines can join. Registrants simply fill out a health history and consent form and provide a small sample of cells through a cheek swab. Call 303.363.2345 or 800.619.1099 for more information.
Why is there a need for more people to join the registry?
More than 10,000 patients are newly diagnosed each year with blood cancers. More donors are continually needed to help this growing number of patients find an unrelated match because 70 percent of patients do not have a donor in their family.
Does race or ethnicity affect matching?
Yes. Ethnicity is crucial when matching patients with donors. Since tissue type is inherited, patients from diverse ethnic backgrounds are less likely to find a matching donor because minority donors are severely underrepresented on the registry. Today, there simply aren’t enough registry members of diverse racial and ethnic heritage. Adding more diverse members increases the likelihood that all patients will find a lifesaving match.
What is my commitment if I join?
When you join the Be The Match Registry ®, you make a commitment to:
- Be listed on the registry until your 61st birthday, unless you ask to be removed
- Consider donating to any searching patient who matches you
- Keep CMDP updated if your address changes, you have significant health changes or you change your mind about being a donor
- Respond quickly if you are contacted as a potential match for a patient.
Do I have to pay to donate?
Donors never pay to donate. All medical costs are covered by the patient’s medical insurance, sometimes with National Marrow Donor Program assistance.
Is there a cost to join the Be The Match Registry®?
No, however, in order to continue our lifesaving work we need financial contributions. Gifts made to CMDP help cover the cost of adding potential donors to the Be The Match Registry®. The total cost to add a new member to the Be The Match Registry® is about $100. This includes the initial tissue typing test needed to match donors to searching patients and other related costs.
How else can I help?
Make a financial contribution to allow others to join the registry in the future or host a marrow drive at your business, school or faith-based organization. Call 303.363.2345 or 800.619.1099 for details.
Denise Camacho and Enrique Linares Jr.
In January 2009, Enrique Linares Jr. travelled to Denver along with his family for a very special introduction. He was preparing to meet the young woman who helped save his life.
Enrique was diagnosed with leukemia in 2002 and after aggressive treatments, doctors determined that a marrow transplant was Enrique’s best chance at survival.
Two years before Enrique’s diagnosis, Denise Camacho of Aurora, Colo. decided to join the Be the Match Registry®. Then, in 2003 Denise got the call that she was a potential match for a then 14-year-old boy in Cleveland who was suffering from leukemia. Denise jumped at the chance to help save a stranger’s life and on April 11, 2003, at the age of 22, she made that selfless lifesaving donation.
Although the two had connected on the internet, Enrique and Denise had never met face-to-face until being brought together by Bonfils’ Colorado Marrow Donor Program. Enrique thanked Denise for saving his life and in return she thanked him for being a fighter.
Lupe Cervantes
Forty-six-year-old Lupe Cervantes battled lymphoma for the second time and needed a marrow/stem cell donor to survive. With no stem cell matches among his six siblings, Lupe and his doctors turned to the Be The Match Registry® in hopes of finding an unrelated donor match. Sadly, Lupe lost his battle with cancer in 2010. Please honor Lupe and the thousands of other patients like him by spreading the word and joining the registry.
Watch Lupe’s story
Ryan Calderon
“Please register to become a potential marrow donor and give hope to patients, like me who need a second chance at life and the opportunity to play baseball again in the fall.” – Ryan
My name is Ryan Calderon and I’m 8 years old. My childhood cancer journey began the age of 4 when I suffered a baseball injury to my knee. What my family thought to be a routine doctor visit of multiple x-rays and blood samples revealed I had pre-B acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL), an aggressive and life-threatening cancer of the blood that affects my body’s ability to fight infections. After years of unsuccessful chemotherapy treatments I’m now searching the Be The Match Registry® for an unrelated marrow donor because no one in my family is a match. Please register to become a potential marrow donor and give hope to patients, like me who need a second chance at life and the opportunity to play baseball again in the fall. Joining the registry is quick, easy and painless.
The total cost to add a new member to the Be The Match Registry® is about $100. This includes the initial tissue typing test needed to match donors to searching patients and other related costs. Others have contributed toward the costs so funds are currently available so people can join today, however we ask each potential donor along with other individuals, organizations and foundations to make a tax-deductable monetary gift to ensure financial resources are available to cover costs of registering future marrow donors eager to help patients in need of a lifesaving marrow transplant. CMDP must raise $80,000 this year to assure that its work continues. Your charitable gift will allow us to help prospective donors save a life.
Contact Bonfils’ CMDP at 303.363.2345 or visit www.marrow.org for more information.
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Myth Busters
MYTH: There are plenty of ethnically diverse donors on the registry to help patients in need of a match.
FACT: More donors are always needed particularly donors of a racially or ethnically diverse heritage. Patients are most likely to match donors of their same race and ethnicity. The Hispanic and Latino population only represents 10 percent of the nearly 9 million people on the national registry.
MYTH: All marrow donations involve surgery.
FACT: The majority of procedures do not involve surgery and are much like making a blood donation. Today, the patient’s doctor most often requests a peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) donation, which is similar to making a blood donation. The second way of donating is marrow donation, which is a surgical procedure. In each case, donors typically go home the same day they donate.
MYTH: Donating marrow is painful and involves a long recovery.
FACT: There can be uncomfortable but short-lived side effects of making a PBSC donation. PBSC donors may have headaches, joint or muscle aches or fatigue after the donation but are typically back to their normal routine in one to two days. Those donating marrow receive general or regional anesthesia, so they feel no pain during donation. Marrow donors can expect to feel some soreness in their lower back for one to two weeks afterward. Most marrow donors are back to their normal activities in two to seven days.
MYTH: Donating is dangerous and weakens the donor.
FACT: Though no medical procedure is without risk, there are rarely long-term side effects. If you are a potential match, Bonfils’ Colorado Marrow Donor Program (CMDP) will contact you to undergo further testing to determine if you are a true match. If it is determined that you are a true match, you will undergo a physical examination to ensure you are healthy enough to give. Only a small amount of a donor’s marrow is needed to save the patient’s life, the donor’s immune system stays strong and the cells replace themselves within a few weeks.
