I think the typical chances of finding a matched unrelated donor is about 35%, less if you are of a non-white background. The donor pool grows daily so don't fret if you don't find a match right away - I am asian and initially there were no matches then about 5-months after the initial search two 9/10 matches came up (still undecided and holding out for a perfect 10). Good luck to your family, it is scary at first but you kind of just get used to dealing with all this. Also, make sure you are at a hospital where they could initiate a database search and have a knowledgeable bone marrow transplant co-ordinator.
Hang in there,
Michelle
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