About the National Marrow DonorProgram(NMDP) at Carter BloodCare
The NMDP is a non-profit organization dedicated to making marrow and stem cell transplants possible for patients from every racial and ethnic community. It is the most comprehensive transplant resource in the world and works to provide hope and deliver a cure to patients in need. Through partnerships with organizations like Carter BloodCare, more resources are available to patients, more volunteers step forward and more advances are made in the science of transplant.
Carter BloodCare participates as a donor center, recruitment group and apheresis collection center for the NMDP network found throughout the United States. Carter BloodCare’s NMDP serves the DFW and East Texas areas and lists over 90,000 potential volunteer marrow/stem cell donors. Carter BloodCare's NMDP staff has coordinated over 274 unrelated marrow/stem cell transplants for patients around the world since 1988.
Currently, NMDP volunteers at Carter BloodCare help to organize fundraising events so that more donors are always being added to the Registry. An annual goal of over $50,000 needs to be raised to enhance the local NMDP program and to increase the number of educational and recruitment opportunities.
Racial and ethnic heritage play a vital role in tissue matches. Because tissue types are inherited, a patient is more likely to match someone from their own race or ethnicity. Adding more donors from diverse backgrounds to the NMDP registry increases the likelihood that all patients will find a lifesaving match.
Carter BloodCare’s NMDP boasts an ethnically diverse, multilingual staff and maintains a strong presence in the community by attending many minority-focused events both as community volunteers and as NMDP representatives. Proficient at working with ethnically targeted media, Carter BloodCare also participates in several national recruitment campaigns including the “African Americans United for Life” campaign and the “Hispanics Giving Hope” campaign.
The NMDP at Carter BloodCare works in close partnership with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of America (LLSA), North Texas Chapter as well as local Chambers of Commerce and other community organizations for cross promotion and volunteer opportunities.
Matched donors who donate peripheral blood stem cells are collected by Carter BloodCare’s FACT accredited Clinical Apheresis Department. Department staff includes registered nurses and apheresis technicians. Prior to donation donors are counseled by Carter BloodCare Medical Directors, monitored closely throughout donation and are contacted periodically.
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