Hillel (the campus center for Jewish life) is conducting a bone marrow registration drive in conjunction with the Gift of Life Foundation. Basically how it works is volunteers swab their inner cheek with a couple cotton swabs then turn it in to get mailed with their registration to an international registry. Later (it could be months, it could be years, it could be never), if someone in need of a marrow or stem cell transplant turns out to be a match with one of the volunteers, the volunteer is contacted by the Foundation about the possibility of donating.
Because certain diseases are particularly prevalent among minorities (e.g. Tay-Sachs, Sickle Cell, etc.), it's super-important to have as many of us as possible in the database because it makes it easier to find a genetic match. Hillel will have people set up at a table in the Weinmann lobby assisting volunteers with the cheek-swabbing / registration process on Wednesday, February 16 from 11:00-2:00.
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