Bone Marrow Drive Seeks Asian Donors

To increase the number of potential bone marrow donors among Asians and Pacific Islanders, Asians for Miracle Marrow Matches and KSCI-TV Channel 18 will co-sponsor a community marrow donor registration drive on Saturday.

Bone marrow transplants have a greater degree of success when the donor and the patient are from the same ethnic background, said Soji Kashiwagi, public education coordinator for Asians for Miracle Marrow Matches, or A3M.

“Bone marrow is inherited, much like eye, hair and skin color,” Kashiwagi said. “If there is no match within the immediate family, a member of the same ethnic group is the next best hope.”

The need for donors among Asians and Pacific Islanders is great, Kashiwagi said, because of the comparatively low number of registered potential donors.

“In the Asian and Pacific Islander cultures,” Kashiwagi said, “a lot of things tend to be kept in the family, and it is difficult to go outside of the family to ask for help.”

There is also a lack of education about registering to become a bone marrow donor, he said.

According to the National Marrow Donor Program, whites make up the largest number of potential donors, with 1.5 million on the national register. They are followed by African Americans, with 198,000; Latinos, with 180,000; Asians and Pacific Islanders, with 153,000, and Native Americans, with 34,000.

“When you compare Asians and Pacific Islanders to Caucasians, the numbers are really low,” Kashiwagi said. “The odds are much better for Caucasians than Asians and Pacific Islanders to find a successful match.”

Of the 5,424 bone marrow transplants performed since 1987, Kashiwagi said, 92, or 1.7%, have been performed on Asians and Pacific Islanders compared to 4,557, or 84%, on Caucasians.

The bone marrow drive will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at First Columbia Condo Management, 15549 Devonshire St., Suite 2.