Minorities Urged to Offer Marrow Donations

LOS ANGELES — City Councilman Nick Pacheco on Wednesday joined a group of students suffering from leukemia to urge members of the public to register as possible bone marrow donors.

At a City Hall press conference, Pacheco called on all minority communities to be more responsive to calls for bone marrow donors to help young people like the ones who were accompanying him.

“They’re working very hard to lead normal lives while being sick,” he said.

Only 5% of the approximately 3 million registered bone marrow donors in the United States are Latino, said Angelita Rovero, a bone marrow recruiter for the American Red Cross.

The ratio is troubling, she added, because the best matches for bone marrow recipients are commonly found within their own ethnic group.

“The chance that they will find a donor are one in a million,” she said.

Those odds are particularly discouraging for people with leukemia, which can be fatal if not treated with a transplant, Rovero said. Yet most Latinos are hesitant to register as donors.

Registration will be held today and Friday from 1 to 6 p.m. at the East Los Angeles Red Cross chapter at 5051 E. 3rd St., and on Saturday from 1 to 7 p.m. at Eagle Rock’s West Field Shopping Town, 2700 Colorado Blvd.

Additional information: (213) 739-5595.