BLOG/WE CARE:  Register As A Marrow Donor, Jerome Williams (TEAM JEROME)

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Date:  May 7, 2007

About The Cause:  The mission at TEAMJEROME.COM is to improve the odds for those in need of a marrow transplant to find a donor by raising awareness on a national level for African Americans, Asians, Native Americans, Latinos, Multiracial Americans and others to register as potential marrow donors.  To date, with Jerome’s tireless efforts, they have registered hundreds of potential marrow donors!   Jerome Williams was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) in February 2003.  He is African American, French and Native American which made his search for a marrow donor all the more difficult since matching is based on one’s genetic makeup.  He is pleased to report that a blood stem cell donor was found, and he had his transplant in November 2009.  Unfortunately, there are thousands of people still in dire need of a donor and Jerome is committed to continue the fight.

Thousands of people with diverse ethnic backgrounds are diagnosed each year with diseases such as leukemia that require a blood stem cell, cord blood or marrow transplant as the only known cure.  In most cases, patients have to turn to the marrow donor registry to find an unrelated marrow donor match.   The registry has about 9 million registered donors.  In Jerome's case, only 1 person out of 9 million was a possible match for him...1 out of 9 million?  He thanks God that she was a committed donor.

The odds of finding a marrow donor match within the registry is as follows:  Caucasians 74%; African Americans 7%; Asians 7%; Latino Hispanic 10%; and Multiracial Americans 3%; and others are 1%.  There’s no good reason why all of the numbers can’t be 100%!  

To our detriment, people of color are grossly underrepresented in the marrow donor registry.  What this means is, if you or someone you love is in need of a marrow transplant the odds of finding a marrow donor is highly unlikely.  Countless lives may be saved as a result of healthy people giving of themselves to assist those that are not as healthy. 

Visit TEAMJEROME.COM to make a donation and to learn more information.

Please Register As A Marrow Donor!
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