70% – The percentage of patients that do not have a matched donor in their family and must depend upon volunteer donors to find an unrelated marrow or blood stem cell donor to help save their lives.
If you are between the ages of 18 and 44, the first step to becoming a bone marrow donor is to join the Be The Match Registry and consent to giving a cheek swab for tissue typing and allow entry of your genetic and biographic information into the Registry of potential donors.
Doctors around the world search this registry to find a match for their patients. If a doctor selects you as a match for their patient, you may be asked to donate bone marrow or cells from circulation blood, called PBSC donation.
Each person who registers as a volunteer marrow or stem cell donor increases the chance that a patient in need will find his or her lifesaving match. If a doctor selects you as a match for a patient, you may be asked to donate bone marrow or cells from circulating blood, called PBSC donation. Go to www.bethematch.org for complete steps on registering on the marrow registry.