Clark Atlanta University students push for more diverse bone marrow donors

ATLANTA - A group of students at Clark Atlanta University are working to overcome a racial disparity in the number of bone marrow and stem cell transplant donors by getting their fellow students to become donors.

According to the National Marrow Donor Program, white patients have a 79% chance of finding a bone marrow or stem cell donor match, while Black patients only have a 29% chance.

"The bone marrow registry list is primarily made up of white donors," said Zarea Edwards, a senior at Clark Atlanta University.

She and several other students founded the university's first chapter of the Gift of Life campus ambassador program.

That program recruits college students at campuses across the U.S. 

They work to get students signed up for the national bone marrow and stem cell donor registry, so that those with blood cancers and diseases can get the transplants they need.

"Once they realize they're not actually donating a kidney or a lung, they're just donating blood, and we can pull the bone marrow from that, it really softens people up," Edwards said.

For her, making this registry more racially equitable is personal.

"When I was born, I was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia. It is a genetic blood disorder...from the time I was around eight to recently 19, I was getting a blood transfusion once a month…hopefully one day I can find a match," she said. 

Edwards says this is exactly why she and the other members of the program are studying medicine.

"A lot of us are looking at going into the medical field to help fight these racial disparities," she said.

Edwards says they are looking to expand their efforts.

"This is the first chapter at Clark Atlanta, and we're hoping to expand to Morehouse and Spelman," she said. 

She says they're already seeing a lifesaving impact from their work here.

"Recently we found a match for a 69-year-old man who was battling blood cancer. We actually found his match here on campus. I was really proud to hear that... I really just can't put into words how big this is to be able to save somebody's life," Edwards said. 

You can learn more about Gift of Life’s registry here.