Minorities suffering from leukemia or other diseases treated by bone marrow transplants often struggle to find a single donor, while whites can often choose from many. But one Dartmouth student is attempting to combat the problem by bringing a national bone marrow drive to Tindle Lounge today.
Bone marrow transplants are a procedure in which a marrow is taken from one person and transplanted in to another. It is used to replace bone marrow -- which generates blood cells -- that is damaged or diseased. Transplants are the only known cure for some diseases, like leukemia.
The "Marrow-thon" is a national campaign designed to draw minority and racially mixed individuals to the National Marrow Donor Registry, a list used to help facilitate bone marrow transplants between donors and recipients who are unrelated.
The event was organized by Justin Neiman '06 after he met a young girl with leukemia who, because of being half Japanese and half Caucasian, was unable to find a marrow donor.
Neiman, with the assistance of MAVIN, a foundation that focuses on multi-racial concerns and promotes the needs of minorities, created the Marrow-thon to combat this problem. Neiman was an intern at MAVIN last year.
"With the under-representation of minority groups, it is important for the registry to expand," said Dr. Debra Bensen, a hematology fellow at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
The success of a bone marrow transplant largely depends on the similarity in genetic composition of the donor and the recipient, according to Bensen.
Bensen researches Graft vs. Host disease, a major problem that sometimes results from bone marrow transplants thought to be related to poorly matched subjects.
Ethnic background is an expression of genetic composition and thus the similarity in ethnic backgrounds of donor and recipient plays a role in the outcome of the transplant, Bensen said.
The process of registry is a costly one, and the National Marrow Donor Program lacks the funding to subsidize registry for all potential donors.
As a result of the extreme need from specific groups, only non-Caucasian donors will be able to donate free of charge. Others must pay a fee of $25 if they would like to register.
The NMDP stresses that individuals who register as donors should be prepared to donate marrow when called upon. The donation process is worth inquiring about before registering, Bensen said.
Actual donation consists of a one to two hour surgical procedure in a hospital using general or local anesthesia, according to the NMDP website. Using needles and syringes, some marrow is removed from the pelvic bone.
The NMDP, a partner with MAVIN in the Marrow-thon, will be providing the volunteers and resources for the blood work while MOSAIC, a campus organization that supports multiracial and multicultural students, is sponsoring the drive, providing additional volunteers and providing administrative support.
Students participating in the drive will receive information about the donation process, fill out paper work and have about a tablespoonful of blood drawn. Volunteers from NMDP send the blood to a lab for testing to determine if the donor may be registered as able to offer marrow.
The bone marrow drive takes place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today.
