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The Hong Kong Marrow Match Foundation (HKMMF) and the Hong Kong Red Cross (HKRC) have announced that the HKMMF will transfer the management of its bone marrow donor registry to the HKRC with effect from tomorrow (September 1, 2005). To inform members of the public of the details of the service transfer, the HKMMF and HKRC co-organised a press conference today (August 31, 2005).
The HKMMF was established in 1991, when the understanding of unrelated bone marrow donation was generally low in Hong Kong. The HKMMF was registered as a charitable organisation to set up a bone marrow donor registry and to provide donor services with a long-term goal of transferring the service back to the health authorities or suitable parties when the foundation had shown that it was making a significant contribution to the health care of the community. Since then, the HKMMF has recruited more than 50,000 donors to its registry and has provided bone marrow for more than 250 patients for marrow transplantation.
Over the past few years, the level of charitable support to the HKMMF has been insufficient to guarantee the long-term sustainability of the foundation. The Board of Governors made the decision that, as the HKMMF had proved its value to the community, it was an appropriate time to transfer the management of the service to the health authorities or suitable parties.
Subsequent to discussions among HKMMF, the HKRC and the Hospital Authority (HA), the HKRC agreed to have its Blood Transfusion Service (BTS), which is managed by the HA, take over the services provided by the HKMMF as from September 1. The HKRC will also start a new donor registry, known as the Hong Kong Bone Marrow Donor Registry (HKBMD Registry), from that date. The BTS shall be the respective agent of both HKRC and HKMMF to perform the services previously provided by the HKMMF, including managing and operating the HKMMF donor registry and HKBMD Registry, providing tissue typing for patients and donors, and other associated services. The HKMMF will continue to exist after the transfer but will focus its effort on marrow transplantation research and public education as well as assisting patients in need of unrelated bone marrow transplants.
HKMMF has sent a notification package to its registered donors to inform them of the change and to seek their consent to allow their personal data in the HKMMF donor registry to be accessed and used by the HKRC and the BTS. If donors give consent to the arrangement, their personal data will be transferred to the new HKBMD Registry and will continue to be examined whenever a patient is searching for an unrelated marrow donor. As for patients looking for a matched bone marrow, there should be little noticeable difference between the service previously provided by the HKMMF and the service provided after the transfer.
The HKRC advocates the spirit of humanity and is committed to protecting life and health. The newly established HKBMD Registry marks a new level of HKRC's life-protection mission. In addition to its blood transfusion service, the bone marrow service will be an additional initiative to realise the Red Cross Spirit in helping the sick and the less privileged.
The BTS will recruit new bone marrow donors at its blood donor centres. The arrangement will enable recruitment of new donors to expand the registry in a cost-effective way.
The HKRC arranged a cheque presentation ceremony to acknowledge and thank the generous donation of $500,000 from the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers at the press conference held today (August 31). The HKRC also takes this opportunity to call for the continuing support from the community for the bone marrow service.
One can bring a new hope of life by donating bone marrow. For further details about marrow donation, people can call 2710 1206 / 2819 0766 or visit the BTS web-site at http://www.ha.org.hk/rcbts.
Ends/Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Issued at HKT 17:51
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