What we thought was impossible 10 years ago is now a remarkable advancement in medicine — a fully matched donor is no longer needed for successful marrow and blood cell transplants. That means more Americans with blood cancers or disorders will have greater access to life-saving transplants, especially Americans with diverse ethnic backgrounds.
This breakthrough research led by NMDP, formerly known as National Marrow Donor Program, shows that transplants from partial genetic-matched donors, along with a chemotherapy drug used to prevent graft-versus-host disease, a complication that results from donor cells attacking tissues in the patient’s body, produce similar outcomes as transplants using fully matched donors.
But like all achievements, this innovation would not have happened without the collaboration, hard work, and support of experts and supporters, including Congress.
For nearly four decades, Congress has partnered with NMDP, which serves as the single point of access for patients with blood cancers or disorders searching for unrelated donors. Bone marrow and blood cell transplants can cure or treat more than 75 diseases or conditions, including leukemia and sickle cell disease. Yet 70 percent of patients do not have a matched donor in their family.
These patients turn to the national registry, operated by NMDP, to find a matching donor and a second chance at life. NMDP is dedicated to developing new ways to improve patient access to transplant and recruiting more young, healthy donors to the registry, which offers patients access to more than 41 million potential donors worldwide.
We are grateful Congress renewed its investment in the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program. But together, we can do even more. An increase of $2 million will help us connect more patients to more volunteer donors and save even more lives.
Looking ahead, it's not enough to just add young people to the registry. We must make it easier for potential donors to say “yes” when they are matched with a patient. Donors are asked to spend about 40 hours, spread over several weeks, away from work in preparation to donate their cells.
The challenge for younger donors is that many are in the earlier stages of their careers, making it difficult to take time off work. In fact, about half of the potential marrow donors on the national registry are unable to donate when they are matched with a patient. One of the top reasons they decline is the risk of losing their job if they take time away to donate their blood cells — cells that can potentially cure a disease in another human being.
Congress can fix this issue with a simple common-sense solution, the Life Saving Leave Act. The bipartisan legislation would amend the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to provide basic job protections to bone marrow and blood cell donors — up to 40 hours of non-consecutive, unpaid leave from work. The legislation was introduced last year in the U.S. House by Reps. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.). A U.S. Senate companion bill was recently filed by Sens. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.).
No one should face the dilemma of choosing between keeping their job or saving a life. And now with new treatment options, we need even more young donors to be able to say “yes.” Congress can play a vital role as we work to ensure that all patients have access to their life-saving transplant and that supporting research is an investment in the health of all Americans.
Dr. Jeffery J. Auletta is chief scientific director at NMDP and Senior Vice President of Health Equity.
Congress must act following cancer research breakthrough
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28.02.2024
What we thought was impossible 10 years ago is now a remarkable advancement in medicine — a fully matched donor is no longer needed for successful marrow and blood cell transplants. That means more Americans with blood cancers or disorders will have greater access to life-saving transplants, especially Americans with diverse ethnic backgrounds.
This breakthrough research led by NMDP, formerly known as National Marrow Donor Program, shows that transplants from partial genetic-matched donors, along with a chemotherapy drug used to prevent graft-versus-host disease, a complication that results from donor cells attacking tissues in the patient’s body, produce similar outcomes as transplants using fully matched donors.
But like all achievements, this innovation would not have happened without the collaboration, hard work, and support of experts and supporters, including Congress.
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