MAVIN Foundation has created this website, BMT Basics: Resources for Mixed Heritage Families, to help meet the needs of Washington families whose children, up to age 21, need to undergo a blood or marrow transplant, or BMT. The website is part of MAVIN's  ongoing committment  to ending health inequalities by helping to increase the genetic diversity of the unrelated donor pool so that mixed heritage and other minority patients will be better able find a BMT match when needed.

What is MAVIN's interest in BMT issues?
MAVIN’s work in the BMT field began in 2001 as the result of a request for help from the parents of a young mixed heritage Seattle girl with leukemia in need of an unrelated BMT donor. As is most commonly the case, no one in her family had matched her, and a search of the national registry of unrelated donors had likewise not turned up any potential matches.

The factors that determine the genetic match necessary for a BMT are inherited and thus a patient is most likely to find a donor among biological siblings. However, due to probability factors in genetics, only some 25-30% of patients will have the possibility of a sibling match. The rest will often need to find an unrelated donor, with a match most likely from among who share an ancestral genetic heritage(s) with the patient. However, nationwide, only some 25% of the donor registry  is comprised of individuals of all minority racial/ethnic heritages. Patients of mixed heritages face a great challenge in being able to find matching unrelated BMT donors .

To try meet the challenge, MAVIN created the MatchMaker program to recruit bone marrow donors. The work began with major publicity efforts along with donor recruitment drives, first in the Puget Sound region and then on the national level, by reaching out to  mixed heritage college and community groups. These efforts resulted in the recruitment of over 12,000 new prospective donors, of whom 26% are of mixed heritage backgrounds and about 42% of whom are members of racial/ethnic minority groups. MAVIN’s work has shown that targeted donor recruitment can be effective.  While as yet a donor has not been found for the child who inspired MatchMaker (her disease is presently controlled by a new cancer drug), it appears that a number of people recruited by MAVIN have been contacted for further testing on behalf of other patients. Presently, MAVIN has moved away from direct services and now connects patient families, community groups, and student organizations families with BMT donor recruitment groups and local donor centers, and is involved with education and equity-related policy work in the field.

Why was this site created?
The development of this website was made possible by a grant from the Group Health Community Foundation to MAVIN from April 2006 - May 2007. The purpose of this Children & Youth project grant was to improve information and services available to mixed heritage BMT patients and their families living in Washington state, and to the healthcare providers who work with them.
 
Who does this site serve?
Please note also that this site is specifically for Washington state residents. If you are a resident of another state whose child is undergoing a BMT in WA, or a WA resident whose child is being transplanted in another state, please ask your child’s transplant social worker for help in determining eligibility for services through the transplant center and from your home state.