Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Supported by

Saving a Life with Bone Marrow

Jeff Watkins looked the picture of health.  He ran and worked out all the time.  Then he found out he had a deadly form of leukemia.  The doctors said he had one shot at surviving: a bone marrow transplant.  But could he find a match?  Jeff is African-American, and the registry is 73% white.  Minorities are vastly underrepresented.  So Jeff's family started their own search here in Las Vegas.  Did they find a match?  Why do so few minorities register?  What happens to the sick patients in the countries that have no registry at all?  And why do officials say so many people are afraid to register in the first place?  We talk to 3 men: one who sought to find his match before time ran out, another who got 100,000 people to register after his mother died, and a third who filmed a documentary called " More to Live For" about racing the clock to find a match.

 

GUESTS

Jeff Watkins

Connie Watkins, Jeff's wife

Oscar Correa, Sr Acct Exec (Southwest region), Be the Match: National Marrow Donor Program

Noah Hutton, filmmaker, "More to Live For"

  • LV Sun: Joining bone marrow registry could save a life
  • Stay Connected