BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation, an international bone marrow registry, will celebrate the first ever World Marrow Donor Day (WMDD) on September 19 by having the organization’s Campus Ambassadors run bone marrow recruitment drives on their respective campuses in all 50 states.
Gift of Life’s Campus Ambassador Program (CAP), which includes 105 college students, from Harvard to the University of Hawaii, aims to register thousands of students via a simple cheek swab during this national bone marrow drive.
CAP was created to recruit healthy donors between the ages of 18-25 through peer education and networking. Transplants utilizing blood stem cells and bone marrow from donors in this age category are generally the most successful. As a result of this trend, Gift of Life is seeking to add 100,000 new donors through CAP.
“Hundreds of lives will be saved because of our student ambassadors and the drives they will be running during this academic year,” said Gift of Life Founder and CEO Jay Feinberg. “We are so pleased to be able to kick this program off on the first World Marrow Donor Day.”
Gift of Life is a member of the World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA), a global association of blood stem cell, marrow and/or cord blood registries. WMDA is the originator of WMDD. This year, in celebration of 25 million donors representing 52 different countries, events are being organized all over the world on September 19 to emphasize that 25 million donors are simply not enough.
Through WMDD, Gift of Life is not only hoping to add names to the registry, but is also working to educate the public on updated donor procedures and the less invasive technique existing today for bone marrow donors and recipients.
About Gift of Life
Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in Boca Raton, Fla. Gift of Life is dedicated to saving lives and facilitating bone marrow and blood stem cell transplants for patients with leukemia, lymphoma and other blood-related diseases. Ranking among the top international bone marrow registries, Gift of Life’s vision is to find A match. Anytime. Anywhere. For anyone. For more information on Gift of Life, visit www.giftoflife.org.
