Chinese community encouraged to donate stem cells

An information session in Richmond, B.C., on Sunday aimed to increase the number of Chinese people registered to donate stem cells.

The Chinese immigrant organization SUCCESS partnered with Canadian Blood Servces and the OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network to encourage non-English speakers in the Chinese community to donate.

"Many of the new Canadians coming here are not conversant as yet in English and it takes time for people to learn a new language, but it is important that we give them a chance to take part and be a part of the Canadian mosaic and be a part of the donor base," said Tung Chan, the CEO of SUCCESS.

The session, held at the Richmond Public Library, provided information to possible donors in Mandarin and Cantonese.

A variety of diseases and disorders are treated with stem cell transplants including blood-related diseases such as leukemia and aplastic anemia, and inherited immune system and metabolic disorders.

Stem cell donors and patients are matched according to the compatibility of inherited genetic markers called human leukocyte antigens, according to the OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network, and a person's best chance of finding a matching donor is within his or her own ethnic group.

Eighty-three per cent of Canada's registered stem cell donors are Caucasian, while only 17 per cent come from ethnic backgrounds. Less than five per cent are of Asian descent.

"The Canadian blood cell agency look at the donor base and look at the demographics of this country and look at where it's going and they quickly realized that there's a need to make sure that people from non-European backgrounds need to also understand that the stem cell donation is as important as other types of donation," Chan said.

Of the 600 Canadian patients searching for a stem cell donor, Chan said, eight are Chinese and 30 others have identified themselves as Asian.