Thank you, Sen. Murray

After my father went through a bone marrow transplant, I felt inspired to give back in a way that could help patients like him. I joined the donor registry and had the opportunity to donate my own stem cells to a patient in need. I now give back by advocating for the National Marrow Donor Program®(NMDP)/Be The Match®.

NMDP/Be The Match save lives through cellular therapy by matching patients hoping for a second chance at life with an adult volunteer donor or matching umbilical cord blood cells. In Washington alone, nearly 1,000 patients received a blood stem cell transplant between 2013 and 2018.

I applaud Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) for securing full funding for the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program in 2020, which NMDP/Be The Match is entrusted to operate.

In her leadership role in the Appropriations Subcommittee on the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education, Sen. Murray has led efforts to ensure funding levels for the program are authorized to the full $30 million level set by Congress. By fully funding the program in the 2020 health appropriations bill, NMDP/Be The Match will be able to break down barriers to timely transplant, meet the needs of underserved populations, enable more patients to access optimal treatments, advance innovations to improve outcomes and save more lives.

Thank you, Sen. Murray for your continued support and leadership.

Sara R. Hansen

Issaquah, Wash.