For the first time in the organization's history, The Marrow Foundation, the fundraising partner of the National Marrow Donor Program^® (NMDP), gathered leaders representing organizations from around the country to explore new and innovative ways to work together to meet the nation's health needs.

The Marrow Foundation recently relocated from Washington, DC to Minneapolis to better integrate with and support the NMDP. The inaugural Stakeholder Forum was the first major effort in broadening the organization's reach and increasing collaboration with other health and minority organizations.

The Forum drew representatives from federal and state government, national professional associations and nonprofits, local community-based organizations, higher education, among others. The aim of the event was to collectively reduce barriers to health care, improve equity of access and minimize health disparities. The second day of the event featured customized roundtables, topics included:

• Equity in access to health care and addressing health disparities by lowering barriers of all types, including financial barriers
• Diversifying the health care workforce pipeline
• Supporting community health initiatives to eliminate disparities and strengthen the health of U.S. communities

"Building relationships with these important organizations and agencies cannot happen in a vacuum," said Gwen McFaden, director of foundation relations at The Marrow Foundation. "The Forum was a great first step in starting the dialogue and exploring future mutually-beneficial partnership opportunities."

The collaboration and discussions at the Forum provided valuable feedback on how the NMDP and The Marrow Foundation can be a better neighbor, invested partner and an even stronger national resource for all patients in need throughout the United States.

"I learned a tremendous amount about work of the NMDP at the Stakeholder's Forum, including research, donor recruitment, marketing and fundraising," said Mary Barr, executive director, Jimmie Johnson Foundation. "I also enjoyed the opportunity to brainstorm ways we may partner together in the future."

About The Marrow Foundation:
The Marrow Foundation is the fund-raising organization of the National Marrow Donor Program. It is dedicated to raising the funds necessary to help all patients get the life-saving transplant they need. Over the past 10 years, the foundation's work with families, corporations and other partners has raised $40 million in contributions. These funds help the NMDP recruit donors, provide financial assistance to patients and advance transplant research. For more information call 1 (800) MARROW-2 or visit www.marrow.org.