Founded in 1992, The Bone Marrow Foundation is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bone marrow, stem cell, and cord blood transplant patients and their families by providing vital financial assistance, educational information, and emotional support programs. Transplants treat over 70 life threatening diseases including cancers and genetic disorders. The Bone Marrow Foundation is the only organization of its kind that does not limit assistance to a specific disease, type of transplant, or age range. 

Patients often lack the financial resources necessary to afford not only life saving treatment, but also the often overlooked living and ancillary expenses that can be considerable financial obstacles. The Bone Marrow Foundation works with doctors, nurse coordinators, social workers, and other medical staff from more than 200 hospitals and transplant centers throughout the country to connect patients and their families with the vital financial, educational, and support resources they need to make effective decisions about treatment and its aftermath.

Current Programs:

The Patient Aid Program provides funding to help cover the costs of donor searches, compatibility testing, bone marrow harvesting, medications, medical equipment, transportation, cord blood banking, housing costs, and other expenses associated with the transplant. Health insurance often does not cover these vital support services, and many patients cannot afford them on their own.

One-to-One Funds assist patients and their families by creating a personal fund at The Bone Marrow Foundation. The patient’s community, family, and friends can raise money for the patient’s transplant expenses and all donations will benefit the patient.

Lifeline Project leverages social media outreach so that donors can make a direct and instant difference in the life of a transplant patient. Stories and pictures are posted on the Lifeline Project’s website and individual donors can read these profiles and make a direct financial contribution toward the patients care. 

Medical & Educational Handbooks provide comprehensive patient education and resources to assist patients and family members in obtaining information regarding the transplant procedure and all aspects of follow-up care.

Ask the Expert enables individuals to pose questions concerning transplantation to health professionals. The individual asking the question and the advisory board member responding to the question remain anonymous to each other, and all communications occur via the website or through The Bone Marrow Foundation. 

SupportLine provides support services in an individualized telephone or e-mail format to transplant patients and their families by linking them with volunteers who have gone through the transplant experience.

Our Peer Support Group, staffed by a medical social worker and a nurse clinician, provides bone marrow, stem cell, or cord blood transplant patients and their family members with a monthly group setting in which to share experiences and draw support from others.

For more information, please visit The Bone Marrow Foundation's website: www.bonemarrow.org.