Texas Bone Marrow Donation & Transplant
Every 3-4 minutes, someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with blood cancer1. Thousands of patients with blood cancers—like leukemia and lymphoma—and other diseases need a blood stem cell transplant to survive. Most patients don’t have a fully matched donor in their family, which is when they turn to the NMDP Registry℠ (formerly Be The Match®) in search of an unrelated donor.
That's why we need donors like you. Joining the registry requires a sample of cells, usually collected by swabbing the inside of your cheek. If you join at a live drive, you’ll do your cheek swab there. If you register online, NMDP℠ will send you a swab kit that you’ll need to send back before you’ll officially be added to the registry.
Doctors search the registry to find donors with HLA markers that match those of their patients. These searches happen on behalf of patients every day, so the most important thing you can do as a registry member is stay committed.
Things to know before you join:
- There is no cost to join or donate.
- Your privacy and confidentiality are protected.
- We ask for a commitment to donate to any patient in need.
- You may be asked to donate in one of two ways:
- About 90% of the time, a person's doctor requests a peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) donation. This is a non-surgical outpatient procedure similar to donating platelets or plasma.
- The remaining 10% of the time, doctors request marrow. This occurs through a surgical, outpatient procedure with general or regional anesthesia that takes place at a hospital.
The need for ethnically diverse donors
Saving lives as a blood stem cell donor requires matching human leukocyte antigen (HLA) types. HLAs are proteins, or markers, found on most cells in your body. Since these HLA markers are inherited, patients in need are more likely to find a match with donors who share their ethnic background.
Because of the lack of diversity on the registry, not every patient has the same chance of finding a compatible donor. Patients who are multiracial have a significantly lower chance of finding a match. Improving the ethnic diversity of the NMDP Registry℠ improves all patients’ odds of finding their best match, regardless of ethnic background.
Joining the registry
Your blood stem cells could be the cure for a patient. To join the NMDP Registry, you need to be:
- Between ages 18-40 years
- A resident of the U.S. or a U.S. Territory
- Able to meet medical guidelines
Discover how you can join the donor registry
Resources
If you’d like to learn more about being a blood stem cell donor or about blood stem cell transplants, check out these resources.
DSHS Bone Marrow Donation One-Pager
Discover how you can join the donor registry
Experience the joy of saving a life
Legislation
In 2021, the 87th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, passed House Bill (H.B.) 780. This bill amended Texas Health and Safety Code by adding Chapter 53 to establish a new bone marrow donor recruitment program to educate Texas residents about:
- The need for bone marrow donors, including the particular need for donors from minority populations;
- The requirements for registering with the federally authorized bone marrow donor registry as a potential bone marrow donor, including procedures for determining an individual’s tissue type;
- The medical procedures an individual must undergo to donate bone marrow or other sources of blood stem cells; and
- The availability of information about bone marrow donation in health care facilities, blood banks, and driver’s license offices. These organizations provide bone marrow donation resources and may also print these materials to provide to clients.
H.B. 780 required the Texas Department of State Health Services to work with a federally authorized bone marrow donor registry established and maintained as required by 42 U.S.C. Section 274k and the registry’s interested contracted network partners to develop written and electronic informational materials.
This bill took effect September 1, 2021.