Cincinnati - In honor of National Marrow Awareness Month, The Jewish Hospital's Blood and Marrow Transplant Program, the Tristate's only adult bone marrow transplant program, encourages Tristate residents to consider being a donor. Donating bone marrow or stem cells may be a lifesaver for someone with leukemia, Hodgkin's disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and multiple myeloma-all of which may be treated with bone marrow or stem cell transplants.

The Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at Jewish Hospital uses the National Marrow Donor Program Registry (NMDP) to match local patients with potential bone marrow donors throughout the world. To join the National Marrow Donor Program Registry, call the NMDP at 1-888-862-7769, ext. 103 or 106 and indicate that you'd like to become a part of the Registry. Registering consists of a simple cheek swab to test your tissue type, which costs $25 (and is waived for minority donors due to a shortage in minority registrations). Anyone in good general health between the ages of 18 and 60 can join. After becoming a part of the registry, you may be identified as a potential match. If you are, you'll learn all about the donation process.

"The generosity of marrow donors has saved the lives of so many of our patients. Unfortunately, there are still many patients who have yet to be matched with a donor," said Karen Sovern, transplant coordinator, Jewish Hospital Blood and Marrow Transplant Program. "I encourage anyone who is eligible to consider becoming a part of the registry-especially minorities."

Because patients are most likely to match a donor of their same race or ethnicity, there is a special need for donors who are African-American, American-Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and Hispanic or Latino.

Other ways to help include:

· Donating other blood products, such as whole blood or platelets. All transplant patients will need other blood products during their treatment. If you would like to donate blood, call Hoxworth Blood Center at 513-451-0910 to set up an appointment.

· Donate money to The Jewish Hospital's Blood and Marrow Transplant (BMT) Fund. The Blood and Marrow Transplant (BMT) Fund of The Jewish Hospital is used to make patients and their families more comfortable during their lengthy hospitalizations. To make a donation, call 513-686-5482.

To learn more about bone marrow and stem cell transplantation, visit www.JewishHospitalCincinnati.com . To learn about other ways you can help, visit the National Marrow Donor Program Web site at www.marrow.org or call 1-800- MARROW2.

The Jewish Hospital is part of the Health Alliance, an integrated health care delivery system that also includes The Christ Hospital, The University Hospital, The St. Luke Hospitals, The Fort Hamilton Hospital, Drake Center, West Chester Medical Center and the physicians of Alliance Primary Care. To view other Health Alliance news releases, go to www.health-alliance.com/pressroom.

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