Commit for Life - Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center

	Gulf Coast Marrow Donor Program Mission	Eligibility Guidelines About Marrow or Blood Cell Donation
	To educate and register donors for the National Marrow Donor Program Registry, to promote awareness of the life-saving need for marrow or peripheral blood donations from adult donors to patients awaiting transplant, and to raise funds for donor testing, typing and recruitment

Program Overview

It is estimated that more than 35,000 adults and children could benefit from a marrow or blood cell transplant each year.

Patients diagnosed with leukemias, lymphomas or other blood cancers make up approximately 85 percent of transplants facilitated by the National Marrow Donor Program. The remaining patients undergo transplant to treat a variety of immune system and inherited disorders.

In 1991, Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center was recognized as an accredited donor center for the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), educating and recruiting more than 80,000 potential donors who are willing to donate marrow or blood cells to help save the life of anyone, anywhere in the world.

There is a need for more potential donors, especially from diverse populations. Because tissue types are inherited in the same way as hair or eye color, a patient’s best chance of finding a match is a brother or sister. Only 30 percent of patients have a suitably matched donor in their family. The next best chance of finding a match is between people who share a similar racial and ethnic background.

The NMDP’s Registry of more than 5.5 million potential volunteer donors and more than 40,000 cord blood units is the largest and most diverse in the world. Even so, the Registry is not yet diverse enough to assure all patients an equal chance of finding a match. The NMDP continues to add new tissue types to the Registry through targeted recruitment of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups.

How Do I Join?

A person of any race, ethnicity or gender who is 18 to 60 (up until 61st birthday) years old and who meets donation health guidelines can become a volunteer potential marrow or blood stem cell donor. All potential donors will:

Be given information about the marrow and peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) donation processes
Complete a brief health questionnaire to verify your eligibility to join the Registry
Sign a form consenting to have your tissue type listed on the Registry until your 61st birthday
Provide a small blood sample, which is tested to determine your tissue type

Other Resources

All Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center Neighborhood Donor Centers will be accepting those interested in becoming potential donors.

For more information, call 713-791-6697.

Note: No appointment necessary to join The Marrow Donor Program