Stem cell registry gets a much needed boost from Calgary donors
Posted Apr 1, 2012 9:16 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The number of Chinese-Canadians willing to be stem cell donors has been given an important boost.
Two clinics were held in Calgary on Saturday to increase the list of donors in the country. Right now, 270,000 Canadians are members of the national list. But the Calgary Herald reports of those only 3.5 per cent are of Chinese descent.
Since matches appear to work best within one’s ethnic group, that means Chinese-Canadians have only a small chance of finding a donor match outside of their family. On the other hand, the chances of a white person finding a match are 80 per cent.
167 Calgarians of Chinese descent took part in Saturday’s drive, providing organizers with a simple swab of the cheek inside their mouths.
