At Indiana University, college students have the once-in-a-lifetime chance to save a stranger’s life. Gift of Life is an organization on campus that allows students to swab their cheeks to enter the Gift of Life Marrow Registry. The registry is an organization focused on curing blood cancer through cellular therapy. If they match with a patient who is on the registry needing treatment, they have the option to donate their stem cells to them to be a part of the cure. Ages 18-35 are eligible to donate. A transplant has the potential to cure around 100 different blood-related conditions including cancer, sickle cell disease, and immune system disorders. Every three minutes, one person is diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma, or myeloma. Gift of Life is aiming to cure these devastating statistics one swab at a time. Campus Ambassador, Aakash Parekh, says the donation process is easy. “If you match then you can become a donor by donating stem cells and it’s really simple. It’s like donating blood.”
Each year, Gift of Life at IU has a swab week. The goal of this week is to get as many people to swab as possible. The most recent swab week was an important one because it was the first they’ve held as an official IU club. From April 10th to April 14th, campus ambassadors and volunteers for Gift of Life set up tables around campus including at the gazebo at 10th and Fee Ln., the Indiana Memorial Union, Wells Library bus stop, and Ballantine Hall. A whopping 1,500 Hoosiers joined the registry this swab week. At IU, matches are made occasionally, and hopefully swab week will increase these matches.
Last year, one student actually became a match to someone by swabbing during swab week. She and her roommate were at the Starbucks in the IMU, and they saw Gift of Life ambassadors walking around with stickers, blow up swabs, and a bunch of “orange stuff” as Livvy said, “We were like ‘What is going on? I hope we get approached by these people,” she said. And she did get approached by them. Little did she know, her decision to swab that day was about to change a stranger’s life. She got the call in January of 2023 that she was a match and she decided to go through with the process, which will take place later this year. Donors go to Florida for the donation process, where they can vacation before the surgery. Livvy said she is not scared for this part of the process because it’s simply donating blood and filtering out the stem cells. It is a four to six hour process of just sitting while your blood is being taken. She said she will probably watch movies, since she’s more concerned about being bored than any pain that might happen.
If someone chooses to swab their cheeks and join the registry, it does not mean that they have to be committed to donate. Chances are very rare of matching with a patient, but if there is a match and the donor does not wish to donate, they can remove themselves from the registry. Most often, the match is a complete stranger and not a family member. That being said, if someone does choose to swab, it’s simple. The process consists of scanning a QR code, filling out the information online, filling out the information on the envelope, and swabbing your cheeks.
Swabbing is easy and it only takes about two minutes. Two minutes that can save a life. If you are interested in joining the marrow registry, use this link.
