ACR 172, as introduced, Hadley. Bone Marrow Donation Awareness Month.
This measure would designate the month of May 2016 as Bone Marrow Donation Awareness Month.
Fiscal committee: no.
P1 1WHEREAS, Since 1987, when the United States Congress
2authorized the establishment of a national registry of volunteer
3bone marrow donors, the National Marrow Donor Program
4(NMDP), now publicly known as Be The Match, has facilitated
5more than 74,000 marrow and umbilical cord blood transplants;
6and
7WHEREAS, Be The Match states that the number of transplants
8facilitated through the national Be The Match Registry is “only a
9fraction of the people who can benefit”; and
10WHEREAS, One of the leading hurdles cited in a report by the
11Government Accountability Office is locating a suitably matched,
12unrelated donor, a process that is often difficult, time-consuming,
13and costly; and
P2 1WHEREAS, Seventy percent of patients do not have a donor
2in their family and rely upon the national registry to find a match;
3and
4WHEREAS, California ranks number one in the nation for
5patients searching for a match; and
6WHEREAS, There is a need to enhance the understanding of
7the importance of bone marrow donation, and to encourage
8Californians to participate in bone marrow donation drives; and
9WHEREAS, The most prevalent problem with respect to bone
10marrow donation is the need for racially and ethnically diverse
11donors because of complex tissue types; and
12WHEREAS, Of the more than 13.5 million potential donors on
13the United States’ Be The Match Registry, 40 percent are donors
14from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds; and
15WHEREAS, There is a need to engage the public to increase
16diversity in the registry, with the goal of finding a matching donor
17for all patients to receive the transplant they need, when they need
18it; and
19WHEREAS, Be The Match operates the world’s largest and
20most diverse registry of potential bone marrow donors; and
21WHEREAS, The bone marrow registration process is simple;
22it only takes a few minutes and requires a cheek swab; now,
23therefore, be it
24Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
25thereof concurring, That the Legislature designates the month of
26May 2016 as Bone Marrow Donation Awareness Month; and be
27it further
28Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
29of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
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