Unrelated bone marrow transplantation in Canada, the national experience. Canadian Red Cross Society.

The Canadian Unrelated Bone Marrow Donor Registry (UBMDR) of the Canadian Red Cross Society (CRCS) was officially funded as of April 1, 1989 for an initial three year period with a mandate to recruit 50,000 unrelated bone marrow donors and to conduct the search activities for unrelated bone marrow donors worldwide on behalf of Canadian patients. Since February of 1988, 162 unrelated bone marrow transplants have been carried out in Canada. The registry now stands at an enrollment of 35,705 with approximately 1,200 donors being added monthly. Recruitment of unrelated bone marrow donors is now established in fourteen Canadian cities, and an active ethnic recruitment is now in progress.