The OHSU staff in the adult bone marrow transplant unit share their enthusiasm in growing the national bone marrow registry. (Courtesy)

Many people with blood cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma and other blood disorders need to find a matching bone marrow or stem cell donor quickly to survive. To help, nurses and medical professionals working on the bone marrow transplant unit in the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University are holding a donor registration drive through Sept. 30.

For 12 years, the medical team has been encouraging coworkers, family and friends to sign up as potential donors, working to improve patient survival rates and expand the national bone marrow registry, says Kathie Phan, an OHSU nurse helping to recruit donors. Most people who need a transplant find a match through the registry.

Only 30% of patients can find a matching donor within their family. Since registries often do not reflect all backgrounds, it is especially hard for Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, Asian and other people of color to find a match, Phan says.

Anyone between age 18 and 55 and in generally good health may be eligible to register as a donor. Additional requirements include:  

• BMI (body mass index) between 16.5 and 40.
• Not already registered with another donor center such as Be The Match or Gift of Life. (You only need to register once.)
• A permanent U.S. resident.
• Not an active member of the military (contact Salute to Life to register).

To be a potential donor, just answer a few simple questions and prepare to get a cheek swab. Registration is free and takes about 10 minutes.

The OHSU team invites community members to help them reach the goal of 300 donors:

• Register to have a swab kit mailed to your home.  It only takes 5 minutes.
• Share the donor registration website  with family and friends and ask them to help get the word out.
• Stop by an upcoming event: 
  • Sept. 9: OHSU Farmers Market, Mac Hall Lawn, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
  • Sept. 17: The Sports Bra, 2512 NE Broadway, Portland, 3-7 p.m.
  • Sept. 18: Center for Health & Healing Building 2, outside main entrance, noon-4 p.m.
  • Sept. 30: Robertson Life Sciences Building (RLSB), 1st floor Atrium, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. 
  • Sept. 30: OHSU Back to Campus BBQ, Mac Hall Lawn, 5-7:30 p.m. (for students and staff only)

To date, OHSU has helped register nearly 2,100 potential donors, resulting in seven matches.