Why We Need You

Each year, over 30,000 children and adults in the United States are diagnosed with life threatening blood diseases like leukemia. Only 30% of patients will find a matching donor within their families. The remaining 70% must search for an unrelated donor.

Because ethnicity is a determining factor in finding a match and marrow types could be traced to their geographic origin, patients will most likely find a donor within their racial and ethnic community. Diversifying the registry will improve the chances of patients finding matches.

Over 60 blood diseases can be treated with a marrow or blood cell transplant from a healthy donor. These diseases include acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myelogenous leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia, aplastic anemia, and Hodgkin's disease.

Where and How Do I Register?

Donor Eligibility

In order to be a volunteer donor you must:

• Be between the ages of 18 and 60 and meet health guidelines
• Be willing to help any patient

Where Do I Register?

You can register in one of three ways:

1.) Visit a drive near you. Check out our list of drives or contact us and we can help you find the closest location.

2.) Request a Home-kit by clicking here if you cannot attend a drive. We will ask you a series of questions, and then send you a kit if you still qualify. Kits are fully funded through a special grant for anyone of all or partial ethnic minority descent.

3.) Visit our office at:
244 S. San Pedro St. #503
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Toll Free
(888) 236-4673
(888) A3M-HOPE

Marrow Donation Process

There are three steps in becoming a bone marrow donor. Please select your language preference. Please note: If you have registered before, please update your information by visiting the NMDP website.

• English
  
• Chinese
  
• Spanish
  
• Korean
  
• Vietnamese

See the latest information on donor drives in your community.

To complete the consent form,

• Donors must provide contact information
• Answer questions regarding medical evaluation
• Give names and contact information of two alternate contacts (for example, a family member or close friend) that do not live in the same household.

Though providing your Social Security Number and/or Driver's License Number is optional, if you are willing, sometimes it may be the only way to locate you. All information is kept confidential and is only used to check for the donor's latest address.

What to expect after joining the registry:

Your cheek swab sample is sent to a lab for tissue typing. The results are then listed on the national database of marrow/blood cell donors for patients to search through. If you are a possible match for a patient, you will be contacted immediately. First, you will be informed of the two different types of donation and will be requested to answer a ten-minute health history questionnaire over the phone with your search coordinator. If you fall within the health guidelines, further testing will be done on the original sample you contributed when you first registered or you will be asked to go to a lab appointment as soon as possible to ensure that you are healthy and to determine how close of a match you are to the patient. Because this is time-sensitive, please remember to call your coordinator immediately to start the process!

Update Donor Information

If you have already joined the national registry of marrow donors, there is no need to register again. However, it is important to keep your contact and health information updated so we may easily contact you if you come up as a match for a patient in need.

To update your information you may:

Fill out an update form online
Call the A3M office at (888) 236-4673