BOCA RATON, Fla., Oct. 12, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In an effort to grow the donor registry and save the lives of blood cancer patients, Project Life Movement, a partner of Gift of Life Marrow Registry, will host recruitment drives aimed at college students. The two-day event will be held at Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Mass., on October 25 and 26 from 10:00 am—3:00 pm. Former National Football League player, Boston College alumnus and Project Life Movement ambassador Luke Kuechly will be on hand during the drive on Wednesday, October 25 to encourage students to get their cheeks swabbed and register.
Transplant centers request young donors ages 18 to 35 approximately 90% of the time because the outcome is better for patients battling blood cancers like leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell and inherited immune disorders. This makes college campuses a successful location for recruiting new, healthy, diverse groups of donors for the registry.
Since 2018, Gift of Life Marrow Registry has worked closely with Project Life Movement to attract multicultural college students as potential donors. To date, the program has added nearly 20,000 new donors who have completed 48 lifesaving transplants for patients.
“There is a constant need for new donors who will step up when called upon to help save someone’s life, making every drive and every swab count,” said Project Life Movement Executive Director Ann Henegar. “We are grateful for Luke’s partnership and the tremendous support from the Boston College Community in hosting these drives, raising awareness and improving the chances of finding donor matches.”
In addition to teaming up with Project Life Movement, Gift of Life Marrow Registry hosts donor drives year-round through its highly regarded Campus Ambassador Program that equips students at colleges and universities nationwide with the skills and tools they will need to recruit new stem cell and marrow donors.
“We can’t thank Project Life Movement enough for the thousands of volunteer donors that have joined our registry,” said Gift of Life Marrow Registry Donor Recruitment Director Christopher Camacho. “We are always awestruck by the eagerness of these remarkable young people to help save the lives of total strangers.”
For more information about the Boston College drives, please contact Ann Henegar at ann@projectlifemovement.org. Anyone unable to attend and between 18 and 35 years old may join the registry by requesting a cheek swab kit at giftoflife.org/Swab.
About Gift of Life Marrow Registry
Gift of Life Marrow Registry is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Boca Raton, Fla. The organization, established in 1991, is dedicated to saving lives by facilitating blood stem cell and bone marrow transplants for patients with leukemia, lymphoma, and other blood-related diseases. The registry houses its own state-of-the-art stem cell collection center, biobank and laboratory. To learn more about Gift of Life Marrow Registry, visit www.giftoflife.org.
About Project Life Movement
Project Life Movement is a national collegiate program committed to curing blood - related diseases and saving lives by registering volunteers for stem cell and bone marrow donation with campus - wide drives. The goal of these drives is to educate the students on the need for volunteer donors, and with the developing technology the process is even faster and easier than before. All students have to do is register on an app and complete a simple cheek swab.
Media contact: Edwige Buteau
Phone: (917) 655-3843; Email: Edwige.Buteau@outlook.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1736fb37-cf48-4607-934e-e3496115fcd7
