2013-2014

News Release

REF NO.: 1

SUBJECT: Memorial University kicks off Get Swabbed! campaign

DATE: September 9, 2013

Memorial University will host two Get Swabbed! events on the St. John’s campus next week in conjunction with blood donor clinics, giving students even more ways to help patients in need by registering as stem cell donors.
Canadian Blood Services’ OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network is a program dedicated to recruiting healthy, committed volunteer donors for patients in need of blood (hematopoietic) stem cells.
The first Get Swabbed! event takes place Tuesday, Sept. 10, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Landing on the third floor of the University Centre. The second event takes place Wednesday, Sept. 11, at the Main Dining Hall, Upper Level, from 1-3 p.m. and 4-7:30 p.m.
Last year, Memorial University participated in Get Swabbed! for the first time and registered the highest number of male donors per capita.
“It’s great to be part of a national campaign that can help save lives today, and in the future,” said Shane Arsenault, president of the Medical Graduate Students’ Society. “Registering is so easy, and the impact is life-changing.”
OneMatch will present student champions Mr. Arsenault and fellow graduate student Adrian Gee with a certificate of appreciation for their participation in the 2012-13 event.
Since its beginning in 2009, the Get Swabbed! campaign has swelled from 11 university campuses to 26 universities, 28 colleges and 50 high schools from 2012-13, aiming to add more optimal donors to the OneMatch Network.
Optimal donors are young men between ages 17 and 35 and of diverse ethnic backgrounds. Students know doctors are more likely to select young men as the donor of choice for their patients, and have taken on the challenge to register more young men with OneMatch. While there are more than 319,000 Canadians currently registered on the OneMatch Network, there are still nearly 1,000 patients searching for a matching stem cell donor.
Today, 72 per cent of registrants are Caucasian and only 28 per cent are from Canada’s many diverse ethnic groups. Research shows that younger stem cells from male donors can provide better effects on patients post-transplant. Equally, a patient is most likely to find a suitable match with a donor of the same ethnic background.
To register as a potential stem cell donor and to find out more about the OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network, visit www.onematch.ca and www.facebook.com/onematch. OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network videos can be found at www.youtube.com/18882DONATE.

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