Celebrate Black History Month with Nordstrom

REGISTER TO BE A BONE MARROW DONOR.

Many people are fighting life-threatening diseases like leukemia and sickle cell anemia, and they need a bone marrow transplant to survive. Donor matches are critical, especially among minority groups. Only 7% of the 9 million Be The Match Registry® members are African-American. In honor of Black History Month, Nordstrom is helping raise awareness about the need for black donors.

For every person who joins the Be The Match Registry® through nordstrom.com/bhm from February 1–28, Nordstrom will support the cost of adding a new member to the registry, up to $75,000.

For more information or to learn how to register, visit Be the Match. Donor registration information will not be shared with Nordstrom.

City of Hope Reaches Historic Treatment Milestone with 10,000th Bone Marrow Transplant

City of Hope, which helped pioneer bone marrow transplantation three and a half decades ago, performed its 10,000th transplant on Jan. 13, becoming one of the first institutions in the world to reach this milestone. Bone marrow or stem cell transplantation -- collectively known as hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) -- is a complex, often lifesaving procedure in which stem cells are used to help cure patients of their cancer. It is most often used for patients battling diseases like leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma.

“Reaching 10,000, you think about the many people -- children and adults -- who have benefited from City of Hope’s care and research -- the many wonderful people who have come here trusting us to care for them, hoping for a cure.”

“Day to day, our work is all about a single life at stake that we’re trying to save,” said Stephen J. Forman, M.D., Francis and Kathleen McNamara Distinguished Chair in Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation and chair of the Department of Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation. “Reaching 10,000, you think about the many people -- children and adults -- who have benefited from City of Hope’s care and research -- the many wonderful people who have come here trusting us to care for them, hoping for a cure.”

In the nearly 35 years since City of Hope physicians performed one of the nation’s first successful bone marrow transplants, the institution has helped transplantation evolve into a gold standard treatment for several diseases.

On Jan. 13, 2011, City of Hope performed its 10,000th transplant on a patient with advanced leukemia who received stem cells from an unrelated volunteer donor who was a compatible match.

City of Hope performed its first successful bone marrow transplant in 1976 on a young college student from Indiana who was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. His physician told him he should prepare himself for inevitable death. But his cousin, a physician in Los Angeles, knew that City of Hope was launching a bone marrow transplant program. The young student went to City of Hope to undergo a bone marrow transplant, and he has remained in remission for 35 years.

Each year, he and thousands of other survivors, their families and hospital staff attend City of Hope’s Bone Marrow Transplant Reunion, a rite of spring held on the Duarte, Calif. campus.

City of Hope currently performs nearly 500 bone marrow transplant procedures each year. During transplant, patients typically undergo high doses of chemotherapy and/or radiation that help eradicate the cancer cells but also destroy their bone marrow and immune systems. Patients then receive stem cells from one of several sources which then rebuild their blood and immune systems. Different sources of stem cells can be utilized depending on the disease and the availability of stem cell donors. Autologous transplants isolate and use the patient’s own healthy stem cells. Related donor allogeneic transplants use donor stem cells from a compatible relative or sibling, while unrelated donor allogeneic transplants use cells from altruistic volunteers who registered themselves as potential bone marrow donors. Umbilical cord blood stem cells also can be used. City of Hope recently was recognized by the National Marrow Donor Program registry as the only center in 2010 to achieve above average survival rates in unrelated transplants for five consecutive years.

“All of our research and treatment efforts reflect our commitment to patients and their families -- recognizing each of them as a dignified human being with a story to tell and a life to live,” said Forman. “They also are our partners in developing new therapies for those who will come to us tomorrow for care. There are a significant number of people who are alive today because they were and are a part of something we did at City of Hope that was both bold and new.”

To read the full story, click here.

Myths and Facts about Bone Marrow Donation

Every year, more than 10,000 patients in the U.S. are diagnosed with life-threatening diseases such as leukemia or lymphoma, and their best or only hope of a cure is a transplant from an unrelated donor or cord blood unit. The need for transplants is increasing. Medical advances are making transplants a treatment option for more patients of all ages than ever before.

Below is information from Be the Match to clear up some common myths about bone marrow donation. To learn more about joining the Be the Match bone marrow registry, visit their website.

MYTH: Marrow donation is painful.
FACT: General or regional anesthesia is always used for this procedure. Donors feel no needle injections and no pain during the marrow donation process. Afterward, most donors feel some pain in the lower back for a few days or longer.

MYTH: All marrow donations involve surgery.
FACT: There are two ways to donate. The majority of donations do not involve surgery. The patient’s doctor most commonly requests a peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) donation, which is non-surgical and outpatient. If the patient’s doctor requests marrow, marrow donation is a surgical procedure, usually outpatient.

MYTH: Pieces of bone are removed from the donor.
FACT: Pieces of bone are not removed from the donor. In marrow donation, only the liquid marrow found inside the bones is collected. In a PBSC donation, cells are collected from the bloodstream in a process similar to donating plasma.

MYTH: Donating marrow is dangerous and weakens the donor.
FACT: Though no medical procedure is without risk, there are rarely any long-term effects from donating. Only five percent or less of a donor’s marrow is needed to save a life. After donation, the body replaces the donated marrow within four to six weeks. The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), which operates the Be The Match Registry, screens all donors carefully before they donate to ensure they are healthy and the procedure is safe for them. The NMDP also educates donors, answers questions every step of the way, and follows up with donors after donation.

MYTH: Marrow donation involves a lengthy recovery process.
FACT: PBSC donors take the drug filgrastim for five days leading up to donation and may have symptoms such as headache, bone or muscle pain, nausea, insomnia or fatigue during this time. These symptoms nearly always disappear one or two days after donating, and the donor is back to normal. Marrow donors can expect to feel fatigue, some soreness or pressure in their lower back and perhaps some discomfort walking. Marrow donors can expect to be back to work, school and other activities within one to seven days. The average time for all symptoms to disappear is 21 days.

MYTH: Donors have to pay for the donation procedure.
FACT: Donors never pay for donating and are never paid to donate. All medical costs are paid by the patient’s medical insurance or by the patient, sometimes with assistance from the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP). The NMDP, which operates the Be The Match Registry, reimburses donors for travel costs, and may reimburse other costs on a case-by-case basis. Although a donor never pays to donate, many people do pay the tissue-typing cost when they join the registry.

National Donor Sabbath

This weekend, November 12--14, is recognized as the National Donor Sabbath.

National Donor Sabbath is part of an organ donation initiative launched by the Department of Health and Human Services in 1997. Observed on Friday through Sunday two weekends before Thanksgiving, the 3-day period seeks to include the days of worship of major religions practiced in the U.S.

Transplant professionals collaborate with faith communities to focus on the lifesaving gifts of organ, tissue and marrow donation. Faith leaders and congregations participate in services and events to increase awareness of donation and transplantation. Most major religions view organ and tissue donation as a compassionate and generous gift.

The need for donors increases each year. Currently, nearly 110,000 Americans are on the organ transplant waiting list. According to OrganDonor.gov, an average of 3,000 individuals at any given time are searching for an unrelated blood stem cell donor.

Those who donate organs, tissue, and blood stem cells restore hope and share gifts beyond measure. For more information about becoming an organ donor, visit the NFT website. Together, we can continue raising hope and changing lives.