Racial inequality has become a contentious social issue in recent years. One of the most disregarded applications of racial inequality exists in the field of medicine, but it has the potential to be solved by black people.
Bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cell transplants are life saving procedures for many cancer and sickle cell patients. However, the donor and recipient must have matching human leukocyte antigens for a transplant to be successful. Most people are unable to find a match among family members and have to turn to strangers on Be the Match, the world’s largest marrow registry operated by the National Marrow Donor Program. Thousands ofpeople die each year because they can’t find a match. If more people would join the registry, future deaths like these could easily be prevented.
People of the same race as patients searching for a donor are more likely to be an appropriate match. This makes the odds even worse for transplant seekers who are multiracial or belong to an ethnic minority. The situation for black patients in need of transplants is dire. Black people are the least likely to find a donor; only 66 percent of black patients will find a match, compared to 97 percent of white patients, according to a National Marrow Donor Program report. More black people must join the marrow registry. Our lives depend on it.
Some people express concerns about the pain or risks of the procedures, but donating causes very little pain, and it is extremely low-risk. Most people return to daily activities within one to seven days. There are two types of donation — peripheral blood stem cell donation and bone marrow donation. Bethematch.org is completely transparent about these procedures and offers people who are interested a way to become well-informed about the process.
PBSC donors are given injections of filgrastim, a medicine that increases the number of blood-forming cells in the bloodstream, for five days before donating. During the actual donation, blood is taken from a needle in one arm and passed through a machine that extracts the blood-forming cells. The remaining blood returns to the donor through a needle in the other arm. For bone marrow donation, a needle is used to withdraw liquid marrow from the back of the pelvic bone. The donor is under anesthesia during the procedure and doesn’t feel pain. Donors also spend no money to donate. Traveling and medical expenses are covered by the organization that arranges the transplant or the patient’s insurance.
Joining the registry is quick and easy. You just make an account at bethematch.org and fill out a short online information form. A few days later you receive a swab in the mail. You swab your cheek, send it back and can forget about it unless you’re ever called to donate. The odds that you’ll ever need to donate are slim; just one in 450 people are ever a match. The presence of more black individuals on the registry is essential to the possibility of saving a life one day.
The black community has to do more to address such an easily solvable disparity. Racial inequality is always unacceptable. It’s unacceptable in the justice system, and on the donor registry. The easiest way to take action is by joining the registry and encouraging others to do the same. Thousands of lives depend on it.
Osie Evans is a 20-year-old English junior from Natchitoches, Louisiana.