Barbara Lee Honors African American Bone Marrow Awareness Month
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Ricci Graham, (510) 763-0370
Barbara Lee Honors African American Bone Marrow Awareness Month
Washington, D.C.– Today, Congresswoman Barbara Lee joined the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, the National Marrow Donor Program, and Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins from the singing group TLC to raise awareness on the importance of bone marrow donation in the African American community for African American Bone Marrow Awareness Month. Congresswoman Lee released the following statement:
“In order to eliminate health disparities among communities of color, we must bring to light the importance of bone marrow registration. Despite the notable accomplishments made by the national registry,too many African Americans and other minorities cannot find marrow donors.
“We now know that patients are most likelyto match with donors who share a similar racial or ethnic background, making the need to diversify the donor base even more critical.
“Unfortunately, only 7 percent of the 9 million people registered are African Americans and too many African Americans fighting diseases like sickle cell anemia, leukemia and lymphoma cannot find a match.
“Everyone has an important role to play in diversifying the national registry. I encourage all of my constituents to join the 103 bone marrow donors in our district as potential bone marrow donors and register themselves.”
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African American Bone Marrow Awareness Month is organized by the National Marrow Donor Program and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. To find a registry drive near you, please visit www.marrow.org.
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