Canadian Blood Services is looking to post-secondary students across Ontario, including here at Georgian College in Barrie, to have them register as a stem-cell donor.
The national organization is asking students between the ages of 17 to 35 to step up and swab their cheeks to save a life.
Between Feb. 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 lifesaving stem-cell transplant.
Canadian Blood Services says stem-cell transplants can treat more than 80 diseases and disorders.
"Post-secondary students have the power to change a patient’s life, because people ages 17 to 35 make the best lifesaving stem cell donors," the organization says in a news release. "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."
Canadian Blood Services says 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.
Georgian College in Barrie is among the 17 schools participating in Ontario.
If students are unable to attend, they can still register online. More details about the campaign is available at www.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).
