Tomorrow, Tuesday Nov. 22, Canadian Blood Services’ One Match program will be offering students the opportunity to learn about and register to become a stem cell donor. The event will be held in two separate locations, both the Student Commons and the foyer of the ACCE building from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“What we’re looking for is people to become committed donors,” said Amanda Lynn, third-year dental hygiene student at Algonquin.
Lynn is part of the team of three students – two others from Ottawa U’s nursing program– who are working along side Canadian Blood Services for the One Match initiative this year.
Students who register at the event will not be donating immediately, but rather may be called upon in the future when there is someone in need. As a registered donor, you are making a commitment to give when the time comes.
Those who wish to register will be administered a swab sample that will be stored by One Match and used to later determine whether a donor is a viable candidate for someone in need of a stem cell donation.
“It’s about a five second procedure,” said Jocelin Calla McPhail, fourth-year nursing student at Ottawa U, “We’ll swab the roof of your mouth and two sides.”
This year, the One Match team is hoping to reach its goal of 100 donors at the Algonquin event. While all interested donors are encouraged to sign up, there is an urgent need for males ages 17-35 of diverse backgrounds.
“Even though it’s a world-wide database that they can pull from, there isn’t enough people in the demographic we are trying to reach,” said Lynn.
If selected, your donation could help someone with Leukemia, other forms of cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s and various other illnesses.