Outcomes from the first two years of a nationwide interchapter competition to address racial disparities in a marrow registry

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

9-18-2025

Publication Title

Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev

Keywords

Oncology, Public, Environmental & Occupational Health

Abstract

Background: Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplants serve as essential treatments for blood cancers. Each year, 12,000 people require a transplant from an unrelated donor. Because human leukocyte antigen tissue types are inherited, patients are more likely to find suitable matches with same-race donors. NMDP is a non-profit organization that operates a national marrow registry and connects patients needing transplants with donors. To join the registry as a potential donor, individuals must complete an online registration form that asks for demographic and medical information and submit a cheek swab. Potential donors are contacted if matches are found and undergo further evaluation before becoming donors. Due to lower minority representation in the NMDP registry, it can be more challenging for minority patients to find a suitable match. For example, while patients with White European ancestry have a 79% chance of finding a match, patients from the Asian or Pacific Islander communities only have a 47% chance. NMDP has a national partnership with the Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association (APAMSA), a national medical and pre-medical student organization committed to addressing the unique health challenges of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Currently, there are >180 active chapters across the United States. In 2021, NMDP and APAMSA launched a nationwide competition in which APAMSA chapters across the country could compete to recruit the most potential donors. Since then, the competition has been held annually and winning chapters are awarded cash prizes. Objective: The objective of this study was to summarize outcomes from the first two years (2021-2022) of the competition. Methods: We used descriptive statistics to summarize competition outcomes, including numbers of participating chapters and individuals who registered to become potential donors and returned swab kits. Additionally, we summarized participant demographic characteristics, such as age, sex, and race. Results: Between January 1, 2021-September 31, 2022, 56 APAMSA chapters participated in one or both of the first two iterations of the competition. During this period, 2,105 persons from 49 states started registration. Of these, 2,011 (95.5%) persons completed registration. Among those that completed registration, 1,620 (80.6%) returned a swab kit and became potential donors. The mean age of participants who became potential donors was 23.9 (SD 4.3) years. Most individuals who returned a swab kit were female (986 persons, 60.9%). The rest were male (632 persons, 39.0%) or had unknown sex (2 persons, 0.1%). Of those who returned a swab kit, 495 (30.6%) persons were Asian. The remainder were White European (815, 50.3%), Hispanic (129, 8.0%), multiracial (93, 5.7%), and Black (88, 5.4%). Conclusions: A nationwide interchapter competition increased minority representation in a marrow registry. Similar collaborations between the NMDP and other minority student organizations may help further diversify the potential donor pool.

Volume

34

Issue

9

First Page

C33

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