Gift of Life

World Marrow Donor Day 2023 celebrates more than 41 million donors worldwide

Oct 12, 2023 by Gift of Life News

Gift of Life Marrow Registry organized multiple events on World Marrow Donor Day 2023 (WMDD) on September 16 in recognition of our incredible blood stem cell and marrow donors. WMDD, an international event, helps to honor and thank the more than 41 million people who have joined registries around the world.

Even with 41 million donors available, not every patient can find a matching donor due to low representation of their ethnic groups in the registries. The World Marrow Donor Association, the founders of WMDD, emphasize that many more donors from diverse ethnicities are urgently needed to save more lives.

This infographic shows the heads of different ethnic groups with the percentage of that group who are able to find matching marrow donors: African American - 29%, Asian/Pacific Islander - 47%, Hispanic/Latino - 48%, Native American - 60%, White - 79%. The need for Black and multiracial donors is urgent in order to save lives.

Gift of Life Swabmobile: We’re Driven to Save Lives!

For World Marrow Donor Day, Gift of Life launched its Swabmobile, a portable swabbing station in the form of a truck! We also created themes tee shirts declaring that, “We’re Driven to Save Lives!” Our vehicle will carry staff and recruitment drive supplies to college campuses and community events. When will the Swabmobile visit your campus? Stay tuned!

Gift of Life's "Swabmobile" truck is shown in front of the headquarters building, with large Florida live oak trees in the background.

Cake-Off Contest

WMDD also has a delicious component: a “cake-off” contest between the member registries of the World Marrow Donor Association. This year, Gift of Life shrunk the Swabmobile down to cake-topper size, complete with CEO Jay Feinberg in the driver’s seat!

Gift of Life Marrow Registry's entry in the 2023 WMDD cake-off contest features a miniature swabmobile atop the cake, with a tiny Jay Feinberg at the wheel. In the background there is a small blue billboard saying "We're Driven to Save Lives!" and the frosting on the cake is shaped like green grass.

Donor Postcards and #UnSelfies

Every year Gift of Life asks everyone to share their support through social media. Donors may share a postcard declaring, “Swabbed! Matched! Donated!” and anyone can fill out an #UnSelfie message. Each year scores of these photos come in from across the country, and even around the world!

Gift of Life Marrow Registry stem cell donor Cole is holding up a "Swabbed, Matched, Donated!" sign for World Marrow Donor Day. He is in his early 20s, has a big smile, sandy hair and a short beard, and glasses.

Gift of Life transplant recipient Brianne Dollar is marking World Marrow Donor Day with a post on Instagram. She is a light skinned woman in her early 20s with dark hair and blue eyes, as well as a big smile.

The Clark Atlanta University celebrated World Marrow Donor Day at the PantherFIT gym, and Mr. Marcus Kendrick, a black man in his early 30s, wanted to join in. He is holding up an #UnSelfie sign that reads "Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more," a quote from H. Jackson Brown Jr.

Donor Recruitment Drives

The most important thing anyone can do to thank donors is to find more of them! Because the most-requested donors -- 18- to 35-year-olds – quickly age up and are less likely to be called, we must constantly recruit new young donors who can give patients their best chance of a successful transplant. For WMDD, our Campus Ambassadors held drives on their college campuses across the United States.

Three Gift of Life Marrow Registry Campus Ambassadors are shown at their recruitment table at Binghamton University as they run a donor drive on World Marrow Donor Day. All three are holding up #UnSelfie signs that are too distant to read. However, all three are smiling and look happy to be there.

Gift of Life Staff Celebrated, Too!

World Marrow Donor Day is always a special day for our dedicated staff, who are committed to making sure every donor who registers with us, is called as a match, and gets the chance to save a life is treated with the utmost care, attention, and respect. Our donors save lives by giving a small amount of their cells, and that's still a miracle to every one of us. Thank you, donors!

The staff members of Gift of Life Marrow Registry's Adelson Collection Center are gathered around the welcome desk and holding up #UnSelfie signs with their messages of thanks to the stem cell donors who save lives.