Most people familiar with Leukemia know that a bone marrow transplant is the final option to cure the Leukemia. A Leukemia patient must find a matching donor so their body does not reject the stem cells taken from the bone marrow of the donor. Usually the matching donor is of the same race or descent as the patient. A German usually matches with perhaps an American of German descent. Or a Chinese American might match with a Chinese donor and so on.

Unfortunately, there is a shortage of matching donors in minority patients. Therefore, if an end stage Leukemia patient is unable to find a matching donor, the result could be death. This is especially true in the African American community. About 8% of donors in the Bone Marrow Registry are African Americans. Up to 80% of African American patients in need of a bone marrow transplant are unable to find a match.

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