BILL NUMBER: SCR 115INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Senator DeSaulnier JUNE 23, 2010 Relative to Bone Marrow Donation Awareness Month. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SCR 115, as introduced, DeSaulnier. Bone Marrow Donation Awareness Month. This measure would designate the month of October 2010 as Bone Marrow Donation Awareness Month. Fiscal committee: no. WHEREAS, Since 1987, when Congress authorized the establishment of a national registry of volunteer bone marrow donors, the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) has facilitated 10,838 marrow, 421 peripheral blood stem cell, and 13 cord blood transplants; and WHEREAS, The NMDP states that the number of transplants facilitated through the national registry is "only a fraction of the people who can benefit"; and WHEREAS, One of the leading hurdles cited in a report by the Government Accountability Office is locating a suitably matched, unrelated donor; a process that is often difficult, time-consuming, and costly. The average charge for a patient to complete the donor search is $20,000 and often, these costs are not covered by health insurance; and WHEREAS, Patients will deteriorate, develop major complications, or die while awaiting potential donors; and WHEREAS, The most prevalent problem with respect to bone marrow donation is the continued disparity in the number of racially and ethnically diverse donors. Of the four million potential donors on the registry, only 25 percent are donors from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds; and WHEREAS, There is a need to enhance the understanding of the importance of bone marrow donation, and to encourage Californians to participate in bone marrow donation drives; and WHEREAS, The NMDP operates the Be the Match Registry, the world's largest and most diverse registry of volunteer bone marrow donors; and WHEREAS, There is a need to support programs that reduce search time for patients and fully type donors whose tissue compatibility types are less common; and WHEREAS, The bone marrow registration process is simple. It only takes a few minutes and requires a cheek swab; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, that the Legislature designates October 2010 as Bone Marrow Donation Awareness Month; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.