Family Plans Drive to Find a Match for Bone Marrow

Lying in a hospital bed at City of Hope National Medical Center, Guillermo Reinoso tries to keep busy.

He watches “America’s Most Wanted.” He keeps track of his medications. He counts the days until his most recent infection is under control and he can return home to his wife, 6-year-old son and 2-month-old daughter.

But Reinoso’s ethnicity -- he’s half Peruvian and half Honduran -- may work against him as he battles myelodysplasia syndrome, a bone marrow disease that has wrecked his immune system and left him vulnerable to infection.

His best chance of survival is a bone marrow transplant. That requires a donor whose tissue type matches the patient, typically a member of the same ethnic group.

But of the more than 5.5 million people in the nationwide donor registry, only about 400,000 are Latino. About 360,000 in the registry are Asian, 430,000 are African American and 67,000 are American Indian. More minorities are needed as potential donors, said Helen Ng, spokeswoman for the National Marrow Donor Program.

Though the number of registered potential donors has increased over the last several years, it is still more difficult for Latinos and other minorities to find matches, Ng said.

“People of color have a much more challenging time finding a donor, compared to Caucasians,” she said. About 3,000 people are actively searching for donors, and the program facilitates more than 2,500 transplants each year, Ng said.

Two years ago, after a routine blood test, Reinoso, now 35, of Los Angeles was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, which causes the bone marrow to stop producing the blood cells and platelets that control bleeding.

He underwent drug treatment but his doctor told him two months ago that it hadn’t worked. Now, his marrow no longer makes enough healthy blood cells, instead producing poorly functioning ones, a condition known as myelodysplasia syndrome.

Reinoso is in a race against time to find a bone marrow donor. Infections have sent him to the hospital five times this year, said nurse practitioner Anna Teotico.

“We’re really hoping to find a match soon,” she said. “That’s his best chance.”

His family plans to hold a bone marrow drive May 24 at East Los Angeles College. They are offering a $5,000 reward for a successful match.

“This is a living nightmare,” said his sister, Myrna Panetta. “We had no idea it was this difficult to find a match.”

Panetta, who was tested twice, is not compatible. Reinoso’s brothers matched each other but not him. Anyone between the ages of 18 and 60 who meets the health guidelines can join the registry by giving a small blood sample at a donor center.

If a match is found, bone marrow can be donated in one of two ways. The donor can undergo a surgical procedure during which liquid marrow is withdrawn from the pelvic bones. Or, the donor can be injected daily for five days with a drug to increase the number of blood-forming cells in the bloodstream, and then the blood is removed through a needle.

Panetta and her husband went to visit Reinoso on Saturday. They put on hospital gowns, gloves and masks to reduce the risk of giving Reinoso another infection.

They tried to keep the mood light, predicting who would win this season’s “American Idol” contest and joking about the hospital food. But within minutes, the conversation turned to Reinoso’s illness and how soon he could go home.

“Friday, less than a week away,” Reinoso said, smiling and squeezing a tissue.

“That’s good you feel better. You look better, too,” Panetta said.

Reinoso said he thinks there is someone out there whose tissue is compatible with his.

“I’m still hopeful. As long as people are donating, there is always a chance there will be a match,” he said.

For more information about joining the National Marrow Donor Program registry, call (800) MARROW2 or visit www.marrow.org. For details about Reinoso’s bone marrow drive, call Myrna Panetta at (310) 261-0323.