African American Challenge

With just under 500,000 (7%) African Americans on the Be The Match Registry, patients from this community are less likely to find a matched marrow donor.

Changing the odds so more African American patients can access the treatment that can cure their disease is Kids Beating Cancer’s commitment.

Kids Beating Cancer is calling on all African Americans to step up and be potential marrow donors, allowing more African American children and adults to have the hope of a cure and to stop the needless dying.

For thousands of children and adults battling leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell anemia and other life-threatening diseases, a marrow transplant offers their best – or only – hope for a cure. Three out of four patients, however, will not have a matched donor in their family. They depend on Kids Beating Cancer, the contracted Marrow Donor Recruitment Center for the Be The Match Registry, the world’s largest and most diverse listing of potential marrow donors, to find that life saving match. The tissue types used for matching patients with donors are inherited, just like our eye color and skin tone, so patients are most likely to find a match within their own racial or ethnic heritage. That means adding more racial and ethnically diverse donors to the registry – increases the likelihood that all patients will find the donor they need. African American patients have a greatly reduced chance of identifying a life saving donor and going to transplant when they need it, because the national Registry just isn’t large or diverse enough to meet the growing demand. Of the 9 million plus members on the national Registry only 7% have listed their race as African American or Black.

Kids Beating Cancer is trying to improve the odds by offering FREE testing to all who would like to stop the needless dying. If you are between the ages of 18 & 60 and in general good health, can give a simple cheek swab lab test, and fill out a brief health history questionnaire, you might be the match for an African American or Black patient.

For more information. (407) 894-2888 in Central Florida or (866) 800-HOPE