African-Americans awaiting bone marrow transplants face a harsh reality: Of the 10 million potential bone marrow donors in the “Be The Match Registry,” only a scant 7 percent of eligible donors are African-American.
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This is why “Be The Match” launched a new nationwide campaign to help increase the numbers of African-Americans in the registry on Tuesday. Public figures such as Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins of “TLC” and “Good Morning America” host Robin Roberts have raised awareness concerning the dearth of potential African-American donors.
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To help raise the awareness of the treatment of blood cancers and other conditions that may be remedied by bone marrow transplants, interested parties will be encouraged to visit SWABplusDNA.org to learn more about the donation process and to dispel myths about bone marrow donations and assuage fears some may have about the procedure. Retired NBA star and current analyst Shaquille O’Neal has joined the SWABplusDNA campaign alongside Ryan Cater, a college football player. Carter’s contribution to the registry led to a bone marrow transplant for a five-year-old boy suffering with leukemia.
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