NZ Bone Marrow Registry: Urgent Call for Māori & Pacific Donors | RNZ

Urgent Need for Māori and Pacific Bone Marrow Donors in New Zealand

The New Zealand Bone Marrow Donor Registry is facing a critical shortage of donors from Māori and Pacific Island communities, prompting an urgent call for increased registration. Currently, six patients are awaiting potentially life-saving bone marrow transplants, and finding suitable matches within these communities is proving challenging due to significantly lower representation in the global donor pool.

While over 40 million bone marrow donors are registered worldwide, only approximately 6,000 identify as Māori and 3,000 as Pacific Island. This disparity highlights the crucial role ancestry plays in successful bone marrow transplantation. Tissue type is inherited, meaning a closer genetic match significantly increases the likelihood of a successful transplant. When a relative is not a suitable donor, individuals from the same ethnic background offer the next best chance of finding a life-saving match.

Bone marrow transplantation is a vital treatment option for a range of cancers and other serious conditions affecting the blood and immune system. The procedure involves replacing damaged or diseased bone marrow with healthy stem cells, allowing the body to rebuild a functioning immune system.

The Personal Toll of the Shortage

The struggle to find suitable donors is deeply personal for many families. Keri Topperwien, of Ngāti Awa and Ngāti Porou descent, knows this all too well. She lost her three-year-old son, Chace, to acute myeloid leukemia in 2012. Following his passing, Topperwien and her husband established the Dream Chaser Foundation, a charity dedicated to supporting children battling cancer and raising awareness about the importance of bone marrow donation.

Topperwien has become a passionate advocate for increasing donor numbers within Māori and Pacific communities. She believes a lack of awareness is a significant barrier. “I think people just don’t know about it,” she explained. “Unless it’s intimately in your life, it’s hard to understand.”

Addressing Myths and Cultural Concerns

Beyond a lack of awareness, Topperwien points to lingering misconceptions about the bone marrow donation process as a deterrent. “There’s also a lot of old school myths around the process of donating bone marrow, so that can be scary for some people,” she said. She emphasizes that advancements in medical technology have made the process far less invasive than many believe.

Bone marrow, or more accurately, blood stem cells, can now be collected through several methods. Leukapheresis is a common procedure where stem cells are collected from the blood after the donor receives injections to stimulate stem cell production. Alternatively, stem cells can be harvested directly from the pelvic hip bone using a needle, or obtained from umbilical cord blood.

Topperwien also acknowledges that cultural beliefs can sometimes discourage participation. “There’s always cultural hesitation, perhaps understanding how it works and you know the sacredness of the body and taking body fluid from yourself to another.” However, she believes that framing the process within a cultural context can help alleviate these concerns.

“We usually frame it through whakapapa because if you are matched with someone, then somewhere along the line, your genetic makeup has overlapped or crossed over, so here’s that nice connection,” Topperwien explained. “And when you start framing it like that and talking to people about the fact that only Māori can save Māori, it takes the layers of fear and uncertainty away and people start to engage with the topic a lot more comfortably.”

The Dream Chaser Foundation’s Efforts

The Dream Chaser Foundation actively promotes bone marrow awareness and encourages registration within Māori and Pacific communities. Topperwien’s motivation is deeply rooted in her personal experience. “We know first-hand the desperation of not having a bone marrow match anywhere in the world for our son,” she said. “If You can just save one life, then all the effort is worth it.”

The New Zealand Bone Marrow Donor Registry relies on the generosity of volunteers willing to donate their stem cells to those in need. Becoming a donor involves a simple registration process and a health screening to ensure eligibility. The registry then maintains a database of potential donors, ready to be called upon if a match is found for a patient in need.

The current shortage underscores the urgent need for increased participation from Māori and Pacific communities. By registering as a donor, individuals can offer a lifeline to patients battling life-threatening illnesses and contribute to a more equitable and effective bone marrow donor system in New Zealand.