I know that you are most likely to find a donor match with somebody from your own race, but what about people of mixed racial heritage? For example I am 1/2 Asian, 1/2 White, would I need to find somebody who has the same make-up if I needed a donation? I’ve looked at some bone marrow donation sites, but so far I haven’t come up with a definative answer. I’ve been wondering about this for quite some time since almost everybody in my family is mixed.
The best chance of finding a compatible donor is within a fairly homogenous ethnic group from which the reipient also comes.
The top 10 HLA types for African Americans will likely have nothing in common with the top 10 HLA types for Irish Americans, or Chinese Americans.
For a given individual, though, it is largely luck of the draw. From your Asian parent, you may have inherited an HLA allele that is very common is Asians, but rare in European goups (case A) OR you may have inherited an allele that is moderately common in both groups(case B), or allele that is rare in all groups(case C).
In Case A, your best bet would be to look for a donor in people with mixed Asian-American heritage.
In Case B, your best bet would be in the general Caucasian population (Due to higher numbers compared with Asian-Americans).
In Case C, your best bet would be not to ever need a transplant.
As more & more people sign up as donors, though, the chances of successfully finding a match steadily improve.
Sue from El Paso
Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.
Recently a local radio station had a “bone marrow drive” to try and help find a donor for a little girl. As I understand it, it only involved giving a little blood that would be tested for compatibility and if you were close enough they would give you a call, etc. The q I have is, are they keeping all the unlucky canidate info someplace? I wouldn’t mind being a potetial donor.
Generally, when a prospective donor is screened for a well-publicized heart-breaking case, they are asked (or even begged/coerced) to sign paperwork indicating that they would be willing to have their information entered into a database for other people needing bone marrow, both now & in the future. If you agree, they generally ask that you let them know about any changes of address or any drastic change in health that would affect your ability to be a donor.
A call could come at any time.
Sue from El Paso
Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.