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Registry Data

Increasing the number of unrelated marrow donors and cord blood units on the Registry is one requirement of the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program (Program). The Program’s contractor, the National Marrow Donor Program® (NMDP), works with its centers to increase the number of potential marrow donors and cord blood units.

To help more people who have difficulty finding a matching donor, special emphasis is placed on finding marrow donors and cord blood units from these communities:

  • Black or African-American
  • American Indian or Alaska Native
  • Asian
  • Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
  • Hispanic or Latino

Recently, great strides have been made, and the likelihood of finding a match has increased dramatically for patients from all racial and ethnic groups. Data about the number of marrow donors and cord blood units on the Registry are reported annually, from October through September.


Figure 1.

Growth of Marrow Donors on the Registry


Line chart showing the growth of marrow donors on the Registry from 1988 through 2006
View larger image (new window)  Detailed Description [D]

The Registry contains more than 6 million potential donors.

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Figure 2.

Growth of Cord Blood Units on the Registry

Line chart showing the growth of cord blood units on the Registry
View larger image (new window)   Detailed Description [D]

The growth of cord blood units has increased significantly. In 2006, the Registry contained more than 50,000 cord blood units.

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Figure 3.

Diversity of Cord Blood Units on the Registry


Pie chart showing the percentage of caucasian versus minority cord blood units on the Registry in 2006
View larger image (new window)   Detailed Description [D]

Nearly 20,000 cord blood units on the Registry in 2006 were from donors who identified their race or ethnicity as:

  • Black or African-American
  • American Indian or Alaska Native
  • Asian
  • Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
  • Hispanic or Latino
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Figure 4.


Diversity of Marrow Donors on the Registry


Bar chart showing the diversity of marrow donors on the Registry in 2006
View larger image (new window)   Detailed Description [D]

Nearly 1.7 million volunteers on the Registry in 2006 were from these racial and ethnic communities:

  • Black or African-American
  • American Indian or Alaska Native
  • Asian
  • Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
  • Hispanic or Latino
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Figure 5.


Marrow Donors on the Registry by Race and Ethnicity


As of September 20, 2006,  the race and ethnicity of potential marrow donors on the Registry were as follows:

Volunteer Marrow Donors on the Registry by Race
American Indian/Alaska Native More than 75,000 (1.3%)
Asian More than 415,000 (6.9%)
Black or African American More than 480,000 (8.0%)
Caucasian More than 3 million (50.0%)
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander More than 8,000 (0.1%)
Multiple Race More than 150,000 (2.5%)
Unknown* More than 1.5 million (25.0%)
Total More than 6 million

Volunteer Marrow Donors on the Registry by Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino (total number of volunteers indicating Hispanic or Latino ethnicity or race) More than 580,000 (9%)
Non-Hispanic More than 5.5 million (91%)
Total More than 6 million

*Donors whose race is "unknown" were primarily recruited through international centers. Not all international centers collect this information. Before October 2002, Hispanics and Latinos were not asked to identify their race.

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Last Updated: August 31, 2007

Registry Data
Registry data are reported from Oct. 1 - Sept. 30 by the contractor for the Registry, the National Marrow Donor Program® (NMDP).
Patient Outcomes
Find more information about outcomes using unrelated marrow donors or cord blood units from the Registry.
Successful Outcomes Depend on a Matching Donor
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