African Americans and Other Minorities Are Particularly Needed
Jefferson Medical College students will conduct a Bone Marrow Donor Drive to educate the public about how easy it is to become a registered bone marrow donor, as well as to register volunteers. The event will take place on Thursday, March 6, from 8:30 a.m. until 2 p.m., at Jefferson Alumni Hall on the Mezzanine Level. All Jeffersonians are encouraged to register. African American and other minority volunteer donors are particularly needed.
Jefferson's American Medical Student Association chapter is joining forces with Thomas Jefferson University's Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) Program and the HLA Registry Foundation, Inc. to organize the event.
"Being registered as a volunteer bone marrow donor is not time-consuming or costly. All you need to do is have a small blood sample drawn from your arm. As the pool of donors increases so do the odds of survival for people with leukemia and other fatal blood diseases." said Neal Flomenberg, MD, Director of Jefferson's Bone Marrow Transplant Program.
Dr. Flomenberg explained that some characteristics of tissue type are unique to people of specific ancestry. Although it's possible for an African American patient to match a donor from any racial or ethnic group, the most likely match is an African American donor. More African American and other minority volunteer donors are needed, so that others can have a second chance at life.