by Jason Whitely / WFAA.com

WFAA.com

Posted on May 24, 2014 at 10:38 AM

Updated yesterday at 10:38 AM

DALLAS Hispanics, African Americans and Asians have a more difficult time of getting a bone marrow transplant because the national database of potential donors doesnt include many minorities.

But, an effort is underway over the Memorial Day weekend to increase the number of minority donors.

Jose Barrera is among the thousands suffering from a blood cancer specifically Chronic Myeloid Leukemia but he never showed a symptom of it.

"Your body flushes out the white blood cells in your body," Barrera explained. "But with me, the dead ones were just staying in my blood stream and they were overcrowding and that's when you develop cancerous cells."

Barrera, 22, works weekends at Sherlock's Baker Street Pub on Park Lane and studies accounting at the University of North Texas.

Doctors discovered his CML during a routine eye exam at Wal-Mart last September. Fortunately, he said, its the most curable.

The rest is here:
Critical need for Hispanic, minority bone marrow donors

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