Areli Bahena (right) staffs a bone marrow donor drive table March 27 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in San Diego to benefit her 3-year-old Marcos Baltierra, who is suffering from leukemia. (PHOTO COURTESY OF SARA ARROYO) |
An effort to register more Valley bone marrow donors will take place this week in El Centro.
The effort, which is a joint effort between El Centro Regional Medical Center and the National Marrow Donor Program, is also aimed at increasing the number of Latino bone marrow donors, an official said.
The upcoming drive coincides with an effort to find a donor match for two Hispanic 3-year-olds from California suffering from life-threatening diseases, said Sara Arroyo, Hispanic recruitment and outreach coordinator for A3M, an operation of the national Be the Match Registry program.
“There’s always an urgent need to add people to the (bone marrow donor) registry,” said Arroyo, “especially minorities.”
Latinos account for only 9 percent of registered donors yet make up 16 percent of the total U.S. population, Arroyo said. Because of similarities in DNA, members of ethnic groups in need of a transplant are more likely to find a match from someone within the same ethnic group, Arroyo said. Currently, Latino patients in need of a bone marrow transplant have a 72 percent chance of finding a donor match, while whites have a 93 percent likelihood of finding a match, Arroyo said.
The bone marrow donor drive takes place Friday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at ECRMC, 1415 W. Ross Ave. To become part of the national registry, a person must be between 18-60 years old, be in reasonably good health and willing to donate to any patient in need. Donors will be asked to complete a health history form and give a swab of cheek cells. There are no costs to join the registry, nor are there costs associated with donating marrow, said Billi Jo Achurra, ECRMC manager for patient and community relations.
“Most people don’t think of becoming a (bone marrow) donor until it affects them personally,” Achurra said.
Most patients have a family member who is a match about 25 percent of the time, according to data provided by the national registry. The more Hispanics who are in the registry the better, since theirs is the dominant population in the U.S., Achurra said.
The upcoming effort will try to find a donor for 3-year-olds Marcos Baltierra, of San Diego, and Gracie Chavez, of Visalia. Marcos suffers from leukemia and has already undergone one bone marrow transplant last year. Gracie suffers from aplastic anemia and travels biweekly to the University of California, Los Angeles, to receive blood transfusions. Doctors estimate that her body will reject these transfusions in a couple of months, a press release stated.
Staff Writer Julio Morales can be reached at 760-335-4665.
The effort, which is a joint effort between El Centro Regional Medical Center and the National Marrow Donor Program, is also aimed at increasing the number of Latino bone marrow donors, an official said.
The upcoming drive coincides with an effort to find a donor match for two Hispanic 3-year-olds from California suffering from life-threatening diseases, said Sara Arroyo, Hispanic recruitment and outreach coordinator for A3M, an operation of the national Be the Match Registry program.
“There’s always an urgent need to add people to the (bone marrow donor) registry,” said Arroyo, “especially minorities.”
Latinos account for only 9 percent of registered donors yet make up 16 percent of the total U.S. population, Arroyo said. Because of similarities in DNA, members of ethnic groups in need of a transplant are more likely to find a match from someone within the same ethnic group, Arroyo said. Currently, Latino patients in need of a bone marrow transplant have a 72 percent chance of finding a donor match, while whites have a 93 percent likelihood of finding a match, Arroyo said.
The bone marrow donor drive takes place Friday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at ECRMC, 1415 W. Ross Ave. To become part of the national registry, a person must be between 18-60 years old, be in reasonably good health and willing to donate to any patient in need. Donors will be asked to complete a health history form and give a swab of cheek cells. There are no costs to join the registry, nor are there costs associated with donating marrow, said Billi Jo Achurra, ECRMC manager for patient and community relations.
“Most people don’t think of becoming a (bone marrow) donor until it affects them personally,” Achurra said.
Most patients have a family member who is a match about 25 percent of the time, according to data provided by the national registry. The more Hispanics who are in the registry the better, since theirs is the dominant population in the U.S., Achurra said.
The upcoming effort will try to find a donor for 3-year-olds Marcos Baltierra, of San Diego, and Gracie Chavez, of Visalia. Marcos suffers from leukemia and has already undergone one bone marrow transplant last year. Gracie suffers from aplastic anemia and travels biweekly to the University of California, Los Angeles, to receive blood transfusions. Doctors estimate that her body will reject these transfusions in a couple of months, a press release stated.
Staff Writer Julio Morales can be reached at 760-335-4665.
