Data about the numbers of potential marrow donors and donated umbilical cord blood units listed on the donor registry of the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program (Program), including the National Cord Blood Inventory, are reported annually.
Increasing the numbers of marrow donors and cord blood units on the donor registry are requirements of the Program. To help more people who have difficulty finding a matching donor, special emphasis is placed on registering marrow donors and collecting cord blood units from these communities:
The growth in numbers of marrow donors and cord blood units, plus the diversity of races and ethnicities on the registry, are improving all patients' chances of finding the match they need.
On this page:

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The registry contains more than 9.5 million potential donors.

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Nearly 165,000 cord blood units are on the registry. This total includes more than 43,300 units from the National Cord Blood Inventory (NCBI), with nearly 9,300 NCBI units added in 2011.

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Nearly 69,000 cord blood units on the registry in 2011 were from donors who identified their race or ethnicity as:

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Nearly 2.7 million volunteers on the registry in 2011 were from these racial and ethnic communities:
| Volunteer Marrow Donors on the Registry by Race | |
|---|---|
| American Indian or Alaska Native | Nearly 106,000 (1%) |
| Asian | Nearly 670,000 (7%) |
| Black or African American | Nearly 685,000 (7%) |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | Nearly 15,000 (less than 1%) |
| White | More than6.8million (71%) |
| Multiple Race | More than 340,000 (4%) |
| Volunteer Marrow Donors on the Registry by Ethnicity | |
|---|---|
| Hispanic or Latino* | More than 940,000 (10%) |
*Volunteer donors are asked to record both their race and ethnicity. Volunteers who recorded their ethnicity as Hispanic or Latino are also included in one of the above racial groups.
| Cord Blood Units on the Registry by Race | |
|---|---|
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 265 (less than 1%) |
| Asian | Nearly 12,000 (7%) |
| Black or African American | More than 12,000 (7%) |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 150 (less than 1%) |
| White | More than 100,000 (61%) |
| Multiple Race | Nearly 15,000 (9%) |
| Cord Blood Units on the Registry by Ethnicity | |
|---|---|
| Hispanic or Latino* | More than 29,000 (18%) |
*Both the race and ethnicity of cord blood units are recorded. Cord blood units recorded as Hispanic or Latino ethnicity are also included in one of the above racial groups.
The Program’s donor registry, also called the Be The Match Registry®, is operated under Federal contracts by the National Marrow Donor Program® (NMDP). Donor registry data are reported from Oct. 1 - Sept. 30 by the NMDP.
Find more information about patient survival using marrow donors or donated cord blood units from the registry.
Learn about the need for donors.