Organization Address Shortage of Asian Cord Blood Donors

Minorities across North America are often limited when searching for cord blood donors, putting many young lives at risk. That’s why a San Francisco-based organization has started a movement that would increase the number of cord blood donors among the Asian population.

The initiative has been launched by the Joanne Pang Foundation, named in honour of a nine-year-old leukemia patient who passed away in 2003. In conjunction with the MD Anderson Cancer Centre in Houston, Texas, the foundation hopes to establish a cord blood collection program focused on Asian donors.

The Joanne Pang Foundation was founded in 2004, at which time the board of directors set a fundraising goal of $2.5 to construct a cord blood bank in the Bay Area. Unfortunately, the foundation has yet to raise the full amount, but continues to strive to help Asians with blood diseases through its collection program.

Over the course of the next two years, members of the Joanne Pang Foundation hope to raise anywhere between $250 000 to $500 000 to put towards the costs of collecting and shipping cord blood units. Several fundraising events have been planned for 2011, during which the foundation will be accepting grants and donations from the general public.