Bone Marrow Donation is the Gift of Life
In the United States, the NMDP has a list of about 5.5 million donors. But Hispanics account for only 7 percent of the total donor pool while, according to a recent Census Bureau report, they represent more than 14 percent of the U.S. population.
For more information, visit the NMDPs Web site or call 1-800-627-7692.
Padres Contra El Cáncer Partners with Cingular Wireless to Fuel Bone Marrow Donations Among Latinos.
On December 8, Cingular Wireless joined forces with PADRES Contra El Cáncer to host a bone marrow drive to find a donor for Christopher Garcia, a five-year-old boy who has battled leukemia since 2003.
The drive was held in the recently opened Cingular Wireless store in Huntington Park, Calif., and added more than 200 new Latino donors to the national bone marrow registry.
Cancer strikes about 1,500 children annually in California alone, and almost 50 percent of those children are Latino. Cancer remains the leading cause of death among children, second only to accidents.
The bone marrow drive was part of a sixweek effort to collect donations for PADRES programs at Cingular Wireless retail stores, educate the community about childhood cancers, and motivate Latinos to donate bone marrow. The campaign is a partnership between PADRES, Cingular Wireless, Univision 34 (KMEX-TV) and Unified Western Grocers.
Although most children who require bone marrow transplants at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles are Latino, only five percent of the donors are Latino. A sick Latino child like Christopher has a significantly better chance of finding a donor within the Latino community than from the general pool of donors.
PADRES Contra El Cáncer is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for Latino children with cancer nationwide. Since March 2005, actor Eva Longoria has served as the organization’s national spokesperson. For more info, visit www.IamHope.org.
