Marrow Donor Sought for Boy

The San Diego Blood Bank will hold a drive to find potential bone marrow donors for a 13-year-old Vista boy with leukemia.

Lynn Stedd, spokeswoman for the bank, said the event will take place Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the San Diego Buddhist Temple, 2929 Market St.

This will be the second drive to try to find a donor who matches Brian Tanaka’s marrow. Tanaka was diagnosed with leukemia five years ago. The boy had a relapse in June that requires a transplant if he is to live.

Through a grant from the National Marrow Donor Program, the bank will be able to test people of American Indian, Asian, black and Latino ancestry free of charge, Stedd said.

Because of Tanaka’s combined Latino and Japanese ethnic background, it has been difficult for the organization to find a donor who matches his marrow, Stedd said.

Of the 250,000 people in the donor program’s computer data base only 5% are Latino, black, Asian or American Indian.

The bank will take one tube of blood from each donor and test it to see if there is a match, Stedd said.

“Those who decide to donate are making a very serious commitment,” Stedd said.

Donors must be between 18 and 55 and in good health. Everyone who is tested will be added to a national computer bank called the National Bone Marrow Registry.