April 16 2021
MINNEAPOLIS – April 16, 2021 – Because we are incredibly proud of the lifesaving work we do, because we are indebted to the selfless donors who give of themselves to save the life of someone they have never met, because of our gratitude to those who have dedicated their lives to the treatment and cure of otherwise deadly diseases, and on behalf of the thousands of Americans who rely on us to provide hope for a second chance at life, we at National Marrow Donor Program/Be The Match welcome any opportunity to talk about what we do, and to clear up misinformation, misstatements and misconceptions about bone marrow transplant and umbilical cord blood transplant.
This is who we are and what we do:
National Marrow Donor Program/Be The Match is a non-profit organization with a singular mission: We save lives through cellular therapy.
For over three decades, in partnership with the federal government, we have operated the nation’s registry of unrelated bone marrow donors, selfless individuals willing to donate their cells to save the life of a patient suffering from leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell disease, or another 70 different diseases.
During that time, we have facilitated over 105,000 transplants, all of which have involved cells voluntarily donated by either an adult donor, or cells collected from the umbilical cord, which occurs only after a full-term delivery where both mother and baby are healthy and safe.
The federal statute creating the national registry, and the bills reauthorizing it, make clear that the scope of the program is limited to umbilical cord blood and adult-donated bone marrow transplant.
We remain extraordinarily grateful for the decades-long, bipartisan and bicameral support of the federal government in providing blood cancer patients, and those suffering from Sickle Cell Disease or other genetic disorders, with a second chance at life.
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 thecure 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.