When the story of an 8-year-old Henderson girl's search for a bone marrow donor made news last year, it struck a chord with Ronald Yasbin, dean of the College of Sciences.

Yasbin's wife, Sherrill, had received a transplant of blood stem cells from her own marrow four years ago to treat non-Hodgkins lymphoma. The treatment was successful and the disease is now in remission. On the other hand, Chrissy Nelson, the little girl from Henderson, needed bone marrow from donors to treat her leukemia. After months of searching, one was found in March 2004, but the promise of the transplant was short-lived. Nelson died that summer.

Moved by the girl's story, Yasbin suggested a project to his college's undergraduate committee: Organize Southern Nevada's first bone marrow registration program. It seemed like an ideal way for the students to introduce their peers — many of whom plan to be doctors — to community outreach.

"I think it's very important that we establish an identity of being good citizens in the community," Yasbin says.

Justin Smith, a senior in biological sciences who chairs the 12- student committee, seized on the idea and quickly discovered the magnitude of the need. About 3,000 Americans are looking for a bone marrow donor at any one time, and 10 times that number are diagnosed every year with blood diseases that could be cured with a marrow or blood stem cell transplant.

"It's a rare opportunity to be able to help people like this, and I wanted to jump at it," Smith says.

Blood stem cells are produced in a person's bone marrow, according to the National Marrow Donor Program. Blood stem cells that are surgically extracted from the donor's pelvic bone are used to replace and re-grow a patient's damaged marrow and immune system.

Donors are matched by tissue type, which is inherited, but 70 percent of people must look for a match outside of their own family. That's where the national registry comes in.

There's an especially great need to attract more minority donors, who make up just 25 percent of the registry, Yasbin says. The chances of matching tissue type are greater when the donor and recipient are of the same ethnicity.

"There is a real problem finding matches among minorities," Yasbin says. "If you're a minority and your brother or sister is not a match, your chances are really slim.

"I thought establishing this program in Southern Nevada was a natural because of the huge Hispanic population we have."

The students are working with the national registry's coordinator in Phoenix to organize an educational session and registration drive early in the spring semester. As awareness of the issue continues to rise, Smith says, he hopes the university can take the lead regionally to continue that momentum.

"UNLV is a great place to have a drive because most students are willing to help, and it's a very diverse campus," Smith says.