Join the Donor Registry
Thousands of people with blood cancers and other diseases - like sickle cell anemia - need a marrow or blood stem cell transplant to survive. Most don't have a fully matched donor in their family. That's why donors are needed.
A blood stem cell transplant replaces a person's unhealthy blood-forming cells with healthy ones.
Adults may be asked to donate one of two ways:
To join the Be The Match registry, people need to meet age and health guidelines and be willing to donate to any patient in need. Sign-up involves completing a digital registration and giving a swab of cheek cells.
People between the ages of 18 and 40 are most urgently needed since they are requested by transplant doctors more than 86% of the time, and research shows that these donors provide the greatest chance for transplant success.
People over the age of 41 can become a champion and those age 18 or under can pre-register.
Because genetic markers used in matching are inherited, donors are most likely to match someone who shares the same ethnic background. The likelihood of having a matched, available donor on the Be The Match registry ranges from 29% to 79% - depending on the ethnic background.