Donor Drives
Gift of Life has 25 years of experience organizing donor recruitment drives. With more than 16,000 drives and 335,000 registered donors under our belt, we stand ready to help you coordinate a drive. We want every drive to be personally rewarding for our volunteers and, of course, to be a tremendous success! With just a simple swipe of a swab inside the mouth, we can find a new donor's tissue type and see if it matches a patient searching for a donor. We'll add that information to the worldwide database so if someone in the future ever needs help, they will be able to find a compatible donor.
We work with patients, their friends, and families to organize community-wide campaigns; student groups on college campuses; employee drives at corporations; and other creative events including fairs, weddings, and more! By organizing a drive, you can give tremendous hope to thousands of patients searching for a match.
Recruitment Ideas...
- Celebration of Life Events: Make a special event even more memorable by sponsoring a drive at a wedding, holiday party, birthday celebration, or other gathering of family and friends!
- College Campus Recruitment: If you are a college student and are interested in organizing a drive on campus, Gift of Life is ready to partner with you to make it a great success! We encourage you to check out Gift of Life's Campus Ambassador Program, but please know that you do not have to be affiliated with the program to run a drive. Also, Gift of Life can leverage longstanding national partnerships with Hillel and AEPi Fraternity, as well as other on-campus organizations. Students take ownership of the drives, using individual creativity and ingenuity to make them a success!
- Senior Swabbers High School Donor Drives: Organize a half-day program with the senior class at your high school. Students can learn about the biology of transplantation, medical ethics, and donation procedures. A local donor or recipient might even share a real-life experience. This culminates in a drive for the students over 18 years old, and those under 18 can register for a birthday reminder! Learn more about our Senior Swabbers program here.
Why work with Gift of Life?
- Commitment to Quality: Gift of Life performs HLA-A, B, C, DRB1, DQB1, and DPB1 typing by Next Generation DNA Sequencing.
- Turnaround Time: Gift of Life’s average turnaround time for testing is based on the current workload of the laboratory. In most cases it can take an average of two to three weeks. This can be expedited in the case of patient-directed recruitment campaigns.
- Innovation: Gift of Life was the first registry in the world to utilize bloodless testing at drives with cheek swabs.
- Integrity in Leadership: The CEO is both the founder of the organization and a transplant survivor.
Interested? Why wait? Contact a member of our recruitment team today, and they will discuss options with you. Gift of Life staff is equipped to train and guide you through the process to make your drive a success! Our e-mail address is recruitment@giftoflife.org.
