The number of bone marrow donors in Brazil doubled in the past year, after a campaign by the National Cancer Institute (Inca) to sensitize the population.
As a result, there are currently 126 thousand donors in Brazil. The campaign, which was carried out in the states in partnership with blood centers, state departments of health, private firms, and non-governmental organizations, completed its first anniversary on June 18.
Minas Gerais was the state that recruited the largest number of new donors: 15 thousand.
Personal data on individuals who can be called at any time for compatibility tests make up the National Register of Bone Marrow Donors (Redome).
According to the director-general of the Inca, José Gomes Temporão, one of the priorities of the campaign is to expand the donor pool, especially in the North, Northeast, and Center-West regions of the country.
The reason is the need for genetic compatibility between donor and recipient, when transplants are performed.
“The closer the groups are, ethnically, the easier it will be to find a donor. That is because, in the case of bone marrow, compatibility is genetic, not just of blood type, as occurs in solid organ transplants,” the Inca director explains.
The number of bone marrow donors has at least tripled in the states of Maranhão, Ceará, Piauí, Pará, and Amazonas since the beginning of the campaign. In Amazonas the increase attained the mark of 1,120%.
ABr – www.radiobras.gov.br