National Marrow Donor Program hopes to find donors of diverse
ethnic backgrounds
Gilroy – Those attending the Garlic Festival will not only be able to enjoy the festivities, they will also be given the chance to help save lives.
The National Marrow Donor Program is hoping to bring in volunteer donors of a diverse ethnic background to their tent. Cynthia Carlson, recruitment specialist for the NMDP, said the program is underrepresented by the Latino, Asian and African American population.
“Sometimes people of those ethnic groups have no chance or potential donors,” she said.
Carlson added that the program already has a steady donor list of Caucasians, but said they will not turn anyone away.
The first step is for the person to sign up for the NMDP registry. The donor should be 18 to 60 years old and in good health. The program no longer requires a blood sample, it is only a simple cheek swab donors will do themselves. The volunteer’s name will be entered into the registry until they are 61.
If a volunteer is found to match a patient in need of a marrow transplant, the procedure to collect the marrow is not as painful as the myth would have it sound. She said she tells women it does not hurt worse than menstrual cramps and Carlson tells men it is like going to the dentist.
Carlson said she donated to a young child in 1991 and the experience gave her a wonderful feeling inside. Although the child died six months later, Carlson said it was not all in vain.
“The point is that she and her family know she had a match,” she said. “It would have been different if she had not had a match.”
Carlson said she understands that some people are afraid of the idea of donating their marrow, but tries to put their fears to rest by giving them more information about it.
“I try and tell people, ‘… imagine, you are afraid of a procedure, when a child needs a donor,’ ” she said.
The NMDP will be in a tent adjacent to the Rotary Club Wine Tent on the Ranch side of the park all weekend.
