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
Figure 2. Growth of Cord Blood Units on the Registry
Figure 3. Diversity of Cord Blood Units on the Registry
Figure 4. Diversity of Marrow Donors on the Registry
Figure 5. Marrow Donors on the Registry by Race and Ethnicity
Figure 1.
Growth of Marrow Donors on the Registry
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The Registry contains more than 6 million potential donors.
Figure 2.
Growth of Cord Blood Units on the Registry
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The growth of cord blood units has increased significantly. In 2006, the Registry contained more than 50,000 cord blood units.
Figure 3.
Diversity of Cord Blood Units on the Registry
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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
Figure 4.
Diversity of Marrow Donors on the Registry
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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
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.