Yang Rohr Encourages Residents to Become Bone Marrow Donors

NAPERVILLE, Ill. – State Rep. Janet Yang Rohr, D-Naperville, is raising awareness for the need of lifesaving bone marrow donations and is encouraging those who are able to consider donating.

“Over this past year, we have all seen the heroism of so many making sacrifices to keep others safe and healthy,” said Yang Rohr. “One way that individuals can give back and help those in need is to register to become a donor.”

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, each year, approximately 18,000 people, ages 0-74 in the United States are diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses where a bone marrow transplant from a related or unrelated matched donor is the best treatment option. Be the Match, one of the nation’s most prominent bone marrow donor registries, reports that 70 percent of patients in need of a bone marrow transplant do not have eligible donors in their families, and transplants must come from non-familial donors. Healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 44 who are interested in joining a donor registry can visit https://join.bethematch.org for more information.

“For people who suffer from diseases like leukemia and other blood cancers, a bone marrow transplant may be their only treatment option,” said Yang Rohr. “Patients with life-threatening diseases often have to wait extended periods of time before finding a match, but if more people register as donors, treatment could be provided much sooner to those in need.”