The Washington Legislature could consider a measure that would help increase access to the national bone marrow donor program.
Two 7th District lawmakers, Senator Shelly Short and Representative Jacquelin Maycumber, last week announced legislation that would create a checkbox on driver’s license applications that connects interested applicants with the national program, Be The Match. The lawmakers are still hammering out the details and the language of the legislation, with both emphasizing the importance of addressing privacy concerns.
The measure was announced Friday in Spokane at the Jada Bascom Foundation’s annual Step-By-Step Fundraising Dinner. The foundation was created by Bascom’s grandmother, who works to bring awareness about the importance of bone marrow registration. Her granddaughter received a transplant from Germany to help fight her leukemia, after no match was found in the National Bone Marrow Registry, which includes 7 million people.
The Indiana-based Children’s Organ Transplant Association says nearly 10,000 U.S. patients are waiting for a lifesaving bone marrow transplant. (Spokesman-Review)
