Canadian Blood Services is asking post-secondary students to “swab up” and “save a life.”
Representatives from Canadian Blood Services are visiting campuses of Ontario colleges and universities to recruit stem cell registrants.
Members of “Canada’s Lifeline” team will be at Trent University on Monday, February 12th from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the main lobby of the Trent Athletic Centre.
“Canada’s Lifeline is coming to select colleges and universities to help you join the stem cell registry and save lives,” Canadian Blood Services noted in a media release.
“Students have the power to change the life of a patient by attending swabbing events across Ontario campuses from February 5 to 16.”
Canadian Blood Services is asking students between the ages of 17 and 35 to participate by having their cheeks swabbed. Between February 5 and 16, students can register to become a stem cell donor and potentially be a match for one of the nearly 1,000 Canadian patients waiting for a life-saving stem cell transplant, Canadian Blood Services noted.
Stem cell transplants can treat more than 80 diseases and disorders, according to Canadian Blood Services.
“Post-secondary students have the power to change a patient’s life, because people ages 17 to 35 make the best life-saving stem cell donors. When a patient undergoes a stem cell transplant, it’s often their last hope for survival, and the use of stem cells from younger donors typically leads to better patient outcomes.”
Patients who need a stem cell transplant are more likely to find a matching donor among those who share their ethnic ancestry. Students who come from an ethnically diverse or mixed-race background could be the match a patient has been waiting for, Canadian Blood Services said.
Campuses participating in Ontario, in addition to Trent University, include:
- Queen’s University in Kingston
- University of Ottawa in Ottawa
- Carleton University in Ottawa
- University of Toronto in Toronto
- Toronto Police College in Etobicoke
- York University in Toronto
- Sheridan College in Oakville
- Ontario Tech University in Oshawa
- Centennial College in Scarborough
- University of Waterloo in Waterloo
- Lambton College in Sarnia
- Western University in London
- McMaster University in Hamilton
- Georgian College in Barrie
- Brock University in St. Catharines
Interested students who are unable to attend one of the events can still register online. Find out more about the campaign at blood.ca/swabatschool.
For more information or to join the registry, visit blood.ca/stemcells or call 1-888-2-DONATE (1-888-236-6283).
Canadian Blood Services is a not-for-profit charitable organization. Regulated by Health Canada as a biologics manufacturer and primarily funded by the provincial and territorial ministries of health, Canadian Blood Services operates with a national scope, infrastructure and governance. In the domain of blood, plasma and stem cells, Canadian Blood Services provide services for patients on behalf of all provincial and territorial governments except Quebec.
The national transplant registry for interprovincial organ sharing and related programs reaches into all provinces and territories.
