In 2005, Congress and President George W. Bush reauthorized federal funding for the National Bone Marrow Program marrow.org. They added a national registry for umbilical cord blood donations http://blood cell.transplant.hrsa.gov. These registries were named after Floridas Congressman, who first proposed a national bone marrow donor registry to let physicians find potential bone marrow and cord blood donors for patients who need transplants.
The National Bone Marrow Program administers the Be The Match registry and the Be The Match Foundation, which facilitates patients and their families with some of the costs of transplantation and promotes research and donor signups. The Web site presents information on how to become a donor or donate cord blood, stories from transplant patients, and what to expect before and after a transplant.
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