Agency Details:

AADP - Asian American Donor Program

The Asian American Donor Program is a community non-profit organization geared towards saving lives. Individuals of multi-ethnic descent (Asian, Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino, African American, Mixed Race) are desperately needed to register as potential marrow/stem cell donors.

You could be the one to save a life by registering as a potential donor.

Description:
AADP conducts marrow registration drives all over northern California and the San Francisco Bay Area. Volunteer opportunities are available for those looking to do long term work, short term work, or as needed work.

Volunteers may be able to assist with:

• web designing, blogging, working with social networks
• assembling registration kits
• showing people how to complete registration steps
• outreaching to communities of color about the importance of becoming a volunteer donor.



History:
In 1989, two Asian leukemia patients, Amanda Chiang, 9 months, and Judith Jang Berkoltz, 32, were in desperate need of bone marrow transplants. Both patients were unable to find a match within their own families. Turning to the National Marrow Donor Program® (NMDP) Registry, the patients hoped to find unrelated marrow donors. With only 123 Asian donors listed on the National Registry, they were told that the prospects of finding compatible donors were virtually impossible.

Determined family and friends of the two patients made a statewide appeal to recruit more Asians onto the Registry. Despite the tremendous emotional and financial sacrifice which led to the successful recruitment of more than 2,000 Asians, no matches were found. However, the unfortunate deaths of these two people gave birth to the compelling mission of the Asian American Donor Program (AADP) and the hope of new life to others.

Since then, AADP has grown to an organization that outreaches to and encourages all ethnic minorities to join the National Marrow Donor Program Registry. In 2008, AADP expanded by launching its Latino Outreach Program.



Contact person: James De Lara, Volunteer Coordinator, (phone), (email)


Office fax number: (510) 568-2700

Address:


2169 Harbor Bay Parkway Alameda, CA 94502 (See a map)


Web Site: http://www.aadp.org

Last updated on February 5, 2010