We at Be The Match want to address your concerns so that you feel comfortable saying yes to being a donor. That’s why we pay for everything, including lost wages. And pair you with an advocate for the entire process—your needs, health and safety are our top priorities. After all, you have the power to be someone’s cure.
Today, 71% of Black or African American patients don’t have a match on the registry, the highest number of any ethnic group. Because the best match for a patient is usually someone who shares their ethnic background, diversifying the registry will save lives.
You could impact someone’s future by joining or saying yes when called to donate. Erica and Nur-D will give you the facts about donation to help you understand what all goes down and how it changes lives … maybe even yours.
Who is Erica Jensen?
Erica is passionate about raising awareness of causes that impact the community such as sickle cell disease. Her combined experiences and interests in diversifying the registry and educating the community about the importance of donation make her an influential leader at Be The Match.
Who is Nur-D?
Nur-D is a popular rapper who has performed alongside acts like Logic, Wu-Tang Clan and Tyler, the Creator. He is a community activist known for radiating positivity and creating honest, original music.
Top 10 questions about blood stem cell donation answered
Is it true that sickle cell can be cured?
Host Nur-D and Erica Jensen from Be The Match share information about a life-saving option for patients with sickle cell disease.
As a blood stem cell donor, how will I be treated?
Does it cost anything to donate blood stem cells?
What am I donating—and what happens next?
What’s the blood stem cell donation process really like?
What’s Be The Match doing to address disparity on the registry and in health care?
Does blood stem cell donation hurt?
After donating blood stem cells, does my body make more?
How long does it take to match a blood stem cell donor with a patient?
Can I choose who I donate my blood stem cells to?
Hear from real people about what it means to save a life
Meet Ryder
Five-year-old Ryder has a rare blood disease and is searching for a blood stem cell donor.
Meet Donna and Tiana
Tiana (right) saved Donna’s life by donating blood stem cells. These two women went down in history as the 100,000th pair to donate and receive blood stem cells through Be The Match.
Meet Kourtney
Kourtney was all in from the start. She shares her journey of donating blood stem cells and saving a little girl with sickle cell disease.
Sickle cell disease affects more than 100,000 people in the U.S.
The biggest impact of this inherited condition is on Black and African American populations.
Fortunately, there’s a cure: a blood stem cell transplant from a matching donor, who typically shares the patient’s ethnic background.
Nearly 750,000 Black and African Americans in the U.S. have signed up to donate blood stem cells and potentially be someone’s cure.
Save a life
Help us make a difference by signing up to be a blood stem cell donor.
Grow the registry
Get involved in the cause by hosting a registration drive, volunteering or raising funds.
Support legislative efforts
Advocacy is critically important to protect access to life-saving blood stem cell transplants and expand insurance policy coverage for patients needing one.
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 through its research program, CIBMTR® (Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research®), so more lives can be saved. To learn more about the cure, visit BeTheMatch.org or call 1 (800) MARROW-2.