The San Diego Blood Bank Stem Cell Donor Center is asking YOU to Make a Difference in Life!

Who We Are

The San Diego Blood Bank Stem Cell Donor Center is your local headquarters for the National Marrow Donor Program^® (NMDP). We help the NMDP fulfill its mission by educating, managing and recruiting people to join the national bone marrow registry.

This donor center was established in 1989 and serves San Diego, Imperial, and Southern Riverside counties. Currently there are over 50,000 volunteers on our local registry. More than 250 of those volunteers have successfully donated stem cells to patients with leukemia or other blood related diseases.

The Need

Every year, more than 35,000 children and adults in the United States are diagnosed with life threatening blood diseases such as leukemia and aplastic anemia. For many of these patients, a stem cell transplant is the only chance for a cure.

A stem cell transplant can either be marrow or peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC). However, such a transplant is possible only when the patient and donor have matching tissue types. Nearly 30 percent of the patients in need will find a matched donor within their family. The other 70 percent of patients must search for an unrelated donor. These patients will turn to the NMDP Registry of volunteer donors in the hope of finding a match.

How do I join the NMDP Registry?

You may join the NMDP registry at any of our San Diego Blood Bank donor centers or mobile bone marrow drives. If you visit one of our donor centers, a small blood sample will be taken. If you visit a mobile drive, we will take a small swab sample from inside your mouth. Both the blood and swab sample will then be tissue-typed.

Currently, the NMDP and the Bone Marrow Foundation of San Diego are providing the funds to cover the cost of testing for both non-minority and minority ethnicities. Once a donor is found to match a patient, the cost of the donation procedure is paid by the NMDP. You will not be charged for any expenses resulting from further testing to identify you as the best available donor or for the collection of your blood stem cells.