Every 27 seconds, someone hears the life-changing words: "You have blood cancer or a blood disorder." For many, a stem cell transplant offers the only chance of a cure. Yet finding a matching stem cell donor is like searching for a needle in a haystack. However, the WMDA community offers hope. Incredibly, 50% of patients find their lifesaving donor in another country through the global stem cell donor database-a critical lifeline for those in need.
Out of 8 billion people, only 41.7 million are registered as voluntary stem cell donors, that is just 0.5% of the world's population. Stem cell transplants require donors with 10 precise HLA markers inherited equally from their parents. This makes finding a match extraordinarily complex and dependent on shared ancestry. Unfortunately, ethnic minorities are underrepresented in the database, and their chances of finding a match are incredibly low.
The WMDA manages the global stem cell donor database, connecting patients to potential donors worldwide. WMDA also trains search coordinators, supports healthcare teams, and continuously improves the database to speed up searches and improve matching success rates. By supporting WMDA, you help to reduce the time it takes for patients to find a donor and increase the likelihood of a life-saving match.
Diversity in the global database is vital to improving outcomes for patients. In the U.S., only 29% of Black or African American patients and 47-48% of Asian, Pacific Islander, Hispanic, or Latino patients find a matching donor. By expanding the global donor registry and ensuring equal representation, we can give every patient, regardless of ancestry, a better chance at survival.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser
