BILL NUMBER: SCR 115	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator DeSaulnier

                        JUNE 23, 2010

   Relative to Bone Marrow Donation Awareness Month.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SCR 115, as introduced, DeSaulnier. Bone Marrow Donation Awareness
Month.
   This measure would designate the month of October 2010 as Bone
Marrow Donation Awareness Month.
   Fiscal committee: no.



   WHEREAS, Since 1987, when Congress authorized the establishment of
a national registry of volunteer bone marrow donors, the National
Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) has facilitated 10,838 marrow, 421
peripheral blood stem cell, and 13 cord blood transplants; and
   WHEREAS, The NMDP states that the number of transplants
facilitated through the national registry is "only a fraction of the
people who can benefit"; and
   WHEREAS, One of the leading hurdles cited in a report by the
Government Accountability Office is locating a suitably matched,
unrelated donor; a process that is often difficult, time-consuming,
and costly. The average charge for a patient to complete the donor
search is $20,000 and often, these costs are not covered by health
insurance; and
   WHEREAS, Patients will deteriorate, develop major complications,
or die while awaiting potential donors; and
   WHEREAS, The most prevalent problem with respect to bone marrow
donation is the continued disparity in the number of racially and
ethnically diverse donors. Of the four million potential donors on
the registry, only 25 percent are donors from racially and ethnically
diverse backgrounds; and
   WHEREAS, There is a need to enhance the understanding of the
importance of bone marrow donation, and to encourage Californians to
participate in bone marrow donation drives; and
   WHEREAS, The NMDP operates the Be the Match Registry, the world's
largest and most diverse registry of volunteer bone marrow donors;
and
   WHEREAS, There is a need to support programs that reduce search
time for patients and fully type donors whose tissue compatibility
types are less common; and
   WHEREAS, The bone marrow registration process is simple. It only
takes a few minutes and requires a cheek swab; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, that the Legislature designates October 2010 as
Bone Marrow Donation Awareness Month; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.