Be The Match Launches My People. My Family. Mi Sangre. Campaign to Tackle Urgently Low Hispanic Representation on Blood Stem Cell Registry

Currently, Hispanic Patients with Blood Cancers and Diseases Are Only
46% Likely to Find a Match

MINNEAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#bethematch–With a shortage of Hispanic blood stem cell donors, Hispanic patients in
need of a transplant only have a 46 percent chance at finding a donor
match – and a cure.


At the onset, one-month-old Bruno
Lara
had a fever that was hard to control. After two months of being
in the hospital, Bruno was diagnosed with Hemophagocytic
Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), an extremely rare and life-threatening
immunodeficiency. His hope for a cure lies in finding a blood stem cell
donor.

Right now, thousands of patients with HLH, blood cancer and other deadly
diseases are desperately searching for a blood stem cell donor who could
save their life. The national Be The Match Registry® offers
the world’s largest listing of potential donors, but the search can
still be a challenge – and it’s even harder for Hispanic patients like
Bruno, due to complex genetics and a smaller pool of potential donors.
Because genetic traits used to match donors and patients are inherited,
patients are most likely to match donors who share their ethnic
background. Unfortunately, only 30 percent of patients find a family
member who is a match.

To help Bruno and other Hispanic patients urgently searching for a
genetic match, Be
The Match
, the world’s leading nonprofit organization focused on
saving lives through marrow and cord blood transplantation, launched a
new campaign, My
People. My Family. Mi Sangre.
, at Hispanicize Miami this week. The
goal is to encourage more Hispanic people to join the registry—for Bruno
and the thousands of other patients in need of matching donors. With an
emphasis on awareness and registration, the campaign will focus on
sharing patient and donor stories, and will partner with Hispanic
community organizations nationally and in key target markets, Miami,
Dallas and Phoenix, for outreach to highlight the urgency yet ease of
getting involved.

“Hispanic communities demonstrate incredible dedication to family, hard
work and service, helping shape our national character,” said Amy Alegi,
Vice President, Marketing & Communications, Be The Match. “With such a
strong commitment to supporting one another, we hope that young, healthy
Hispanic people will consider signing up as potential blood stem cell
donors. It’s a unique opportunity to be a cure for a patient in need –
someone you may not know, but who could easily be a member of your
family, a friend, a neighbor or a coworker.”

Currently, Bruno is two weeks into his eight-week cycle of chemotherapy.
Doctors are hoping to give him a bone marrow transplant at the end of
this cycle, but he currently has no matches on the registry. Without a
match, Bruno faces more chemo – and uncertainty about the future as his
search for a donor continues. In addition to finding their son a
life-saving genetic match, Bruno’s family hopes to educate fellow
Hispanic people about the importance of joining the registry to improve
the odds for the entire community.

“Our genetic ancestry helps make us who we are. Patients seeking a blood
stem cell donor often find their match in someone who shares their
ancestry and heritage. It’s a very special connection,” said Malena
Laughlin, Community Engagement Representative, The Icla da Silva
Foundation. “For the Hispanic community, the impact of registering to be
a potential blood stem cell donor is simple: the more donors who sign
up, the more Hispanic lives we have a chance to save.”

Joining the registry is a quick and easy process. To join the thousands
who have committed to be donors if matched, new registrants can sign up
from anywhere with internet access—home, work or even on the go via
smartphone. To learn more, visit YouCouldBeTheCure.org/MiSangre.

About Be The Match®
For people with
life-threatening blood cancers—like leukemia and lymphoma—or other
diseases, a cure exists. Be The Match® connects patients with
their donor match for a life-saving marrow or umbilical cord blood
transplant. People can contribute to the cure as a member of the Be The
Match Registry®, financial contributor or volunteer. Be The
Match provides patients and their families one-on-one support,
education, and guidance before, during and after transplant.

Be The Match is operated by the National Marrow Donor Program®
(NMDP), a nonprofit organization that matches patients with donors,
educates health care professionals and conducts research so more lives
can be saved. To learn more about the cure, visit BeTheMatch.org
or call 1 (800) MARROW-2.

Contacts

For Be The Match:
Nikki Parrotte
202-878-8315 /
240-344-0691
nikki.parrotte@padillaco.com

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