The San Diego Blood Bank Stem Cell Donor Center is asking YOU to Make a Difference in Life!
Who We Are
The San Diego Blood Bank Stem Cell Donor Center is your local headquarters for the National Marrow Donor Program® (NMDP). We help the NMDP fulfill its mission by educating, managing and recruiting people to join the national bone marrow registry.
This donor center was established in 1988 and serves San Diego, Imperial, and Southern Riverside counties. Currently there are over 50,000 volunteers on our local registry. More than 250 of those volunteers have successfully donated stem cells to patients with leukemia or other blood related diseases.
The Need
Every year, more than 35,000 children and adults in the United States are diagnosed with life threatening blood diseases such as leukemia and aplastic anemia. For many of these patients, a stem cell transplant is the only chance for a cure.
A stem cell transplant can either be marrow or peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC). However, such a transplant is possible only when the patient and donor have matching tissue types. Nearly 30 percent of the patients in need will find a matched donor within their family. The other 70 percent of patients must search for an unrelated donor. These patients will turn to the NMDP Registry of volunteer donors in the hope of finding a match.
How do I join the NMDP Registry?
You may join the NMDP registry at any of our San Diego Blood Bank donor centers or mobile bone marrow drives. A donor registration consent form is completed and a small swab sample is collected from inside your mouth. The swab sample is then shipped to the NMDP repository where it will be tissue-typed.
Currently, the NMDP and the Bone Marrow Foundation of San Diego are providing the funds to cover the cost of testing for both non-minority and minority ethnicities. Once a donor is found to match a patient, the cost of the donation procedure is paid by the NMDP. You will not be charged for any expenses resulting from further testing to identify you as the best available donor or for the collection of your blood stem cells.
What if I'm already on the registry?
Thank you for making a difference in life!
If you are a possible match for a patient, we will contact you for more information. We may also ask you to come in for further compatibility testing.
Please keep us updated if your contact information changes so we may reach you quickly if you match a patient. Update your information online or call us at 1 (800) 4MY SDBB ext 8268 (1-800-469-7322 ext 8268) if:
- Your phone number, name or address changes
- You have any changes to your health
- You want to be removed from the NMDP Registry
