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The need for blood is constant. Red blood cells are useable for only 42 days.

Read how blood transfusions and marrow donations have impacted the lives of people in our community.

Colorado Marrow Donor Program

Each year thousands of people are diagnosed with diseases for which a stem cell or marrow transplant could be a cure.

About 70 percent of these people are unable to find a donor match within their family and must search for an unrelated donor on the National Marrow Donor Registry. Patients searching the registry have a greater chance of finding a match in a donor from the same ethnic background.

Bonfils' Colorado Marrow Donor Program (CMDP) has two primary initiatives – to facilitate stem cell and marrow transplants to give patients with blood-related diseases a chance for survival and to recruit more potential donors to the National Marrow Donor Registry.

In 2007, CMDP facilitated 32 blood stem cell or marrow matches and placed more than 2,500 potential marrow donors in Colorado on the National Marrow Donor Registry.

How to Become a Marrow Donor

Join the registry at any Bonfils marrow drive, donor center or blood drive by completing a consent form and giving a small blood or tissue sample. The registry is searched by patients in need.
Are you a match? If you are a potential match, CMDP will contact you to undergo further testing to determine if you are a suitable match. Once you have been informed about the procedure, you will decide if you would like to provide consent for the donation.If you are a potential match, CMDP will contact you to undergo further testing to determine if you are a perfect match. If it is determined that you are a perfect match, you will undergo a physical examination and decide if you will continue with the donation.
You will be asked to donate stem cells through a donation of marrow or a Peripheral Blood Stem Cell (PBSC) donation. You recover quickly from the procedure and your stem cells are naturally replenished within a few weeks. You remain on the national registry until the age of 61. Donors are encouraged to keep their contact information current by contacting CMDP.

For more information about CMDP, call 303.363.2345 or 800.619.1099 or e-mail Patty Owens.