Nordstrom Raises Cord Blood Awareness for Black History Month

This month, Nordstrom and Be The Match are teaming up to raise awareness of the need for cord blood and bone marrow donation in the African American community. The partnership is part of Nordstrom’s “Living Well” project, which seeks to provide individuals with easy access to information about cord blood donation and banking.

Be The Match estimates that 10 000 Americans are diagnosed every year with diseases like leukemia and sickle cell anemia. For these patients, cord blood and bone marrow transplants from members of the same race present the best chances of survival.  This becomes a problem for African American patients, as they lack representation in cord blood registry. For example, only 7% of Be The Match’s donors are African American.

As part of the initiative, Nordstrom is launching a new website at www.nordstrom.com/bhm that serves to inform visitors about donating bone marrow and cord blood. Be The Match will cover the $100 registry cost for those that sign up during Black History Month.

The project is being promoted by both Nordstrom and Be The Match through social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook. This is great opportunity to learn more about cord blood banking and potentially help someone in need in the process.