The China Marrow Donor Program (CMDP) has hit a record 700,000,
meaning that more than 60 percent of those suffering blood disease
can successfully find data that matches their own disease in the
initial stages.
CMDP director Hong Junling attributed the rise to Chinese
people's deeper understanding of marrow donation and increasing
support from the government in recent years.
Last year, the number of marrow donors was 580,000, up from
336,500 in 2005. The program was launched in 2001.
"The CMDP plans to increase the data bank number to about one
million by 2010, which means over 80 percent of Chinese patients
with blood diseases may have the chance to find a matching bone
marrow to save their lives," Hong said.
The program, also known as the Data Bank of Chinese
Hematopoietic Stem Cell Donors, aimed to help millions of Chinese
with blood diseases.
Up to now, more than 800 donors had volunteered to give
hematopoietic stem cells to the CMDP for transplant after matching
human leucocyte antigens (HLA).
The CMDP was also helping overseas patients, Hong said. The data
bank had helped 34 patients abroad to find compatible hematopoietic
stem cells. The patients came from countries or regions that
included the United States, Britain, Switzerland, Singapore,
Afghanistan, Republic of Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Stem cell transplants have proved effective in treating blood
diseases such as sickle-cell anemia, leukemia and other disorders.
Matching of a donor and a recipient for HLA was pivotal for the
success of blood stem cell transplants.
So far, the CMDP had established branch marrow banks in 31
provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions around the
country. It also had 25 HLA laboratories, three high-resolution
laboratories and a quality control laboratory.
Experts said matching bone marrow was very difficult among
people with no blood relationship. Therefore, the more data the
marrow bank had, the more lives it could save.
According to the CMDP, China currently has more than four
million leukemia patients with the rate increasing at around 30,000
annually. Almost one million people were waiting for matching
hematopoietic stem cells.
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(Xinhua News Agency December 21, 2007)