Tamar Renee Bolt Memorial Fund Inc.
Striving For A More Diverse Registry
There is a special need for people of color to become volunteer donors, our heritage tends to be the most diverse, and every new potential donor could represent a unique tissue type. Because tissue types are inherited, patients are more likely to find a match within their own racial or ethnic groups. As people of color we need to educate ourselves about bone marrow and blood stem-cell transplants. There is a critical need for more ethnically diverse donors to help the many patients searching the, Be The Match RegistrySM (NMDP). Although Tamar passed away before she received her stem-cell transplant, she understood the importance of educating people of color about the bone marrow and blood stem-cell donation process, and how we all can make a difference by joining, Be The Match RegistrySM. *New name, same registry Be The Match RegistrySM is the new name for the National Marrow Donor Program Registry. If you joined the NMDP Registry, either in person or online, you are a member of the Be The Match Registry and do not need to join again. Learn more about Be The Match Registry. click here
Someone you may know is diagnosed with some form of cancer everyday. Every five minutes someone new is diagnosed with a life-threatening disease, such as leukemia or lymphoma. Since last year, 71,000 more Americans have been diagnosed with a blood cancer. Every ten minutes someone dies.
Each year thousands of people develop life-threatening blood diseases that are treatable with bone marrow or blood stem-cell transplants. People of color currently represent less then one-fourth of the volunteer donors on the Be The Match Registry the new name of the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP).
Blood stem-cell transplants are medical miracles. It offers the possibility of a cure for diseases that were once thought to be incurable. It offers you the chance to fight for your life and the chance to win.
When a person's blood stem cells become diseased or cancerous, it is a life-threatening situation. Often the only hope for treatment is a bone marrow or stem-cell transplant, which replaces the patient's diseased cells, with healthy new cells. These new cells, however, must match the patient's cells as close as possible. Becoming a committed donor can give a patient a chance at life.
The Tamar Renee Bolt Memorial Fund Inc. was established to honor our daughter. We are a non-profit organization, our goal is to educate people of color about the importance of the bone marrow and blood stem-cell donation process and how we all can make a difference by joining the Be The Match RegistrySM. We promote awareness and host donor education and recruitment drives in hopes of making it easier for people of color to register as potential donors.
In 2003, Tamar was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system. Tamar's first reaction was shock and disbelief. Once the shock wore off, she decided to turn her condition into something that would change her life and the lives of other's for the better. We never heard of lymphoma before, so we educated ourselves and learned about two very important organizations. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the National Marrow Donor Program Registry.
