[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 96 (Wednesday, June 24, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7022-S7023]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              AFRICAN AMERICAN BONE MARROW AWARENESS MONTH

  Mr. REID. I now ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the 
consideration of S. Res. 205.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 205) supporting the goals and ideals 
     of African American Bone Marrow Awareness Month.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, this resolution will bring more 
attention to the crucial need for more minorities to become bone marrow 
donors. I am pleased to be joined by my colleague, Senator Isakson of 
Georgia, and my good friend, Representative Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, 
in supporting this important endeavor.
  According to A Bone Marrow Wish Foundation, bone marrow transplants 
can cure over 70 life-threatening diseases such as leukemia. About 70 
percent of patients will need a nonfamily member to donate healthy 
marrow.
  Generally, minority patients will need a match from someone who 
shares the same ethnicity. But finding a successful match can be a huge 
challenge: although there are more than 6 million potential donors 
registered, only 450,000 are African Americans.

[[Page S7023]]

  I know from firsthand experience how important such a donation can 
be. Last year, any chief of staff, who is Latina, made a donation to a 
9-year-old child with leukemia.
  I urge all of my colleagues to join us in encouraging more Americans 
to learn more about bone marrow donation and perhaps consider being a 
donor themselves.
  I ask unanimous consent that a letter of support from the National 
Marrow Donor Program be printed after my remarks.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                National Marrow Donor Program,

                                    Washington, DC, June 22, 2009.
     Resolution Designating July as African American Bone Marrow 
         Awareness Month.

     Hon. Debbie Stabenow,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Stabenow: The National Marrow Donor Program 
     (NMDP) is pleased to offer this letter in support of a 
     resolution that you sponsor to recognize July as African 
     American Bone Marrow Awareness Month. You have been a long 
     time supporter of the NMDP and the Bone Marrow Wish 
     Organization, which is an NMDP affiliated nonprofit based in 
     Detroit that works to promote awareness in minority 
     communities. We applaud your efforts to bring further 
     attention to the need for African Americans to join the 
     Registry.
       The NMDP is entrusted to operate the C.W. Bill Young Cell 
     Transplantation Program (Program) via competitively bid 
     contracts with the Health Resources and Services 
     Administration (HRSA). The NMDP is the international leader 
     in the facilitation of unrelated donor transplants using bone 
     marrow, peripheral blood stem cells, and umbilical cord 
     blood. We provide a single point of access for physicians and 
     transplant patients. Over the last 20 years, the NMDP has 
     facilitated over 35,000 transplants for patients with blood 
     disorders such as leukemia, lymphoma and aplastic anemia, as 
     well as certain immune system and genetic disorders. Congress 
     established the program to ensure that every American in need 
     of transplantation has access to a matching unrelated adult 
     donor or cord blood unit.
       This resolution will assist the NMDP with our efforts to 
     recruit African American donors to the Registry by 
     designating the month of July for the NMDP to promote donor 
     awareness and increase the number of African Americans 
     registered, which is critical to our success. Adding 
     minorities to the Registry, and in particular African 
     Americans, is critical. Unlike Caucasians who have an 88-
     percent chance of finding a match on the Registry or 
     Hispanics who have an 81-percent chance, African Americans 
     only have a 60-percent chance of finding a match. In 
     designating July as African American Bone Marrow Awareness 
     Month, the NMDP can continue to promote awareness to ensure 
     that all Americans have a greater chance of finding a match.
       Today the Registry lists over seven million adult donors on 
     the Registry, but only 8-percent of those donors are African 
     Americans. In closing, every day, more 6,000 men, women, and 
     children search the National Marrow Donor Registry for a 
     match. More donors are needed on the Registry so that all 
     patients in need will have access to this therapy. This 
     resolution will help raise the awareness needed to add more 
     donors to the Registry. We appreciate your continued efforts 
     to support the mission of the NMDP and to assist us to 
     increase the numbers of individuals on the National Registry.
           Sincerely,
                                                   Michael J. Boo,
                                           Chief Strategy Officer.

  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the 
preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid on the table, 
with no intervening action or debate, and any statements be printed in 
the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 205) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 205

       Whereas a bone marrow or blood cell transplant is a 
     potentially life-saving treatment for patients with leukemia, 
     lymphoma, and other blood diseases;
       Whereas a bone marrow or blood cell transplant replaces a 
     patient's unhealthy blood cells with healthy blood-forming 
     cells from a volunteer donor;
       Whereas a patient who does not have a suitably matching 
     donor in the family may search the National Marrow Donor 
     Program Donor Registry for a donor;
       Whereas blood or cell samples from adult donors or cord 
     blood units are tested and the tissue or cell type is added 
     to the National Marrow Donor Program Donor Registry, and 
     physicians may search that registry when they need to find 
     donors whose tissue type matches their patients';
       Whereas African Americans make up 8 percent of, or more 
     than 550,000 of the 7,000,000 people currently on, the 
     National Marrow Donor Program Donor Registry;
       Whereas of the 35,000 people that have received transplants 
     since the inception of the National Marrow Donor Program 
     Donor Registry, only 1,500 have been African Americans;
       Whereas more than 70 life-threatening diseases can be 
     treated with a bone marrow transplant;
       Whereas there is a possibility that an African American 
     patient could match a donor from any racial or ethnic group, 
     but the most likely match is another African American;
       Whereas to become a volunteer donor, potential donors must 
     be between 18 and 60 years of age, meet health guidelines, 
     provide a small blood sample or swab of cheek cells to 
     determine the donor's tissue type, complete a brief health 
     questionnaire, and sign a consent form to have the tissue 
     type of the donor listed on the Donor Registry;
       Whereas the Bone Marrow Wish Organization, which is a 
     minority-run nonprofit organization based in Detroit that was 
     started by an actual bone marrow donor, is initiating 
     ``African American Bone Marrow Awareness Month'';
       Whereas the annual month of awareness would promote donor 
     awareness and increase the number of African Americans 
     registered with the National Marrow Donor Program throughout 
     the Nation; and
       Whereas July 2009 would be an appropriate month to observe 
     African American Bone Marrow Awareness Month: Now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) supports the goals and ideals of African American Bone 
     Marrow Awareness Month;
       (2) urges the people of the United States to participate in 
     appropriate programs and activities with respect to bone 
     marrow awareness, including speaking with health care 
     professionals about bone marrow donation; and
       (3) urges all people of the United States to register to 
     become blood marrow donors and encourages all people of the 
     United States to organize blood marrow registration drives in 
     their communities.

                          ____________________