FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Puget Sound Blood Center Implements New Bone Marrow Registry Collection Method

Blood Sample Draw No Longer Necessary First Step in Joining Bone Marrow Registry

AUGUST 4, 2006, SEATTLE WA — Puget Sound Blood Center is now using a new, simple and less invasive method of collecting the cells used to determine a person’s tissue type in order for them to join the National Bone Marrow Registry. The use of this new collection method by the Blood Center began August 1, 2006. The Blood Center hopes this new easier method will encourage more potential bone marrow donors to join the national Registry.

The new collection method, called buccal swab sample collection, allows a simple swabbing inside the lining of the cheek to collect the cells needed to determine a potential donor’s tissue type. A donor’s tissue type is entered onto the national Registry, searchable by patients in need of a marrow transplant. The swab is included in a kit that will be used at both mobile drives and donor centers.

What is Bone Marrow?
Marrow is a substance found inside bones. It resembles blood and contains blood stem cells, which produce red cells (which carry oxygen), white blood cells (which fight infection) as well as platelets (which help to control bleeding).

Why Register to Donate Bone Marrow?
Every year, thousands of adults and children need bone marrow transplants — a procedure which may be their only chance for survival. Although many patients with leukemia or other cancers have a genetically matched family member who can donate, most people, about 70 percent, do not. These patients' lives depend on finding an unrelated individual with a compatible tissue type, often within their own ethnic group, who is willing to donate marrow for them.

As of July 2006, the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) has facilitated over 25,000 unrelated bone marrow transplants and the national Registry has over 6 million volunteer donors. In the Puget Sound region, our local donor center has more than 60,000 volunteer donors on the national Registry. There is a critical need for more volunteer donors. Many patients, especially people of color, cannot find a compatible donor among those on the Registry. Patients and donors must have matching tissue types, and these matches are most often found between people of the same racial and ethnic background. A large, ethnically diverse group of prospective donors will give more patients a chance for survival.

Blood research saves lives. Puget Sound Blood Center has been committed to advancing transfusion medicine through research since its inception in 1944. That commitment continues today as staff of over 40 scientists work to discover tomorrow’s cures. For more information on Puget Sound Blood Center please see our Web site at www.psbc.org.

If you have any questions please contact Tom Butterworth at 206-292-6511.

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