Aboriginal donors target of stem cell, marrow banks

OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Networks is hoping that a recent partnership with the Canadian Blood Services in Edmonton, Vancouver, and Thunder Bay has raised awareness that there is a desperate need for Aboriginal stem cell donors.  

“Matching donors to patients happens on a genetic level with stem cells, so the likelihood of someone finding a match depends on the type of heritage that they have,” said Olga Pazukha, communications specialist for the OneMatch Network. “If anyone ever needs a donor, that donor is going to be of Aboriginal descent.”

The recent drive to raise awareness registered 150 new potential donors in the three locations.

There are not many Aboriginal people registered at the cord blood bank, and searching the international matches would be pointless, other than those in the United States where heritage is shared with Canadians of First Nations descent, she says.

Stem cell transfer is a simple and painless medical procedure that takes only minutes can save lives.  It is used to treat such diseases as leukemia or lymphoma. The OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Networks is part of Canadian Blood Services that finds and matches patients to donors

While finding suitable matches is often not too difficult among people of common Caucasian ancestry, which includes people from the European countries, finding a match for someone of Aboriginal ancestry means the donor must be found within the population of North America.

With less than one percent of Canada’s adult stem cell network available to search for a compatible match an Aboriginal person, the need for donors has never been greater. Currently there are several patients of Aboriginal heritage waiting in Canada for a match.

With the greater need of an Aboriginal match being the emphasis, a local event was held on the Enoch Cree First Nation.

“The community has really rallied around one young boy from Enoch who is waiting for a match,” said Pazukha. Young men between 17 and 35 are especially likely to offer a suitable sample, although everyone is a potential match.

But donors don’t have to wait to attend a clinic. They can go to the website www.blood.ca and click on the OneMatch icon.  The site leads possible donors through an application process after which a swab kit is sent out. Easy directions show how to swab the inside of their cheek and mail back the kit. There is no charge and they become part of an international blood bank which may save lives.

Parents of newborns are also urged to sign up to donate cord blood from when the baby is born as it is very rich in stem cells.

“There is no risk to the mother or the baby and it can be frozen for up until 30 years,” said Pazukha.

Canada is the only G8 country which does not have a national cord blood bank, making it difficult for those of Aboriginal heritage. A campaign entitled For All Canadians is trying to change that.

“Healthy Aboriginal people are really needed and we urge them all to consider registering,” said Pazukha. “Edmonton will be one of the collection sites once the cord blood bank is established and we welcome everyone to get registered. It could save a life.”