Gift of Life Campus Ambassadors (CAPs) at Rutgers University recently hosted a five-day donor recruitment “Match Madness” mega-drive. Gift of Life holds drives at dozens of universities every year during the month of March to coincide with “March Madness” basketball tournaments.
CAPs Keith Jeranek, Jeremy Moskowitz, Nava Plaut, Kelly Shapiro, Kausalya Sunkavalli and Micah Sutton, plus additional volunteers manned the swabbing tables from March 18 - 22. The team used the strategy of moving the drive to different spots around the large, 6,000-acre campus each day, so students in various locations would have a chance to join the registry.
For transplants to be successful, the donor's tissue type, called Human Leukocyte Antigens, must be a close match for the patient, and matches between strangers are fairly rare. Only 30% of patients can find a donor within their family, leaving 70% of those in need of a transplant searching the registry for a stranger who matches them.
“We finally got to do the mega-drive!” said Kelly. “I’m so happy all the logistics worked out and we were able to reach our goal. Over 400 Rutgers students swabbed in just 5 days! We are super-excited for next year’s mega-drive to surpass our goal.”
Gift of Life is currently searching for donors for several patients, including Ignacio and Rose who are battling myelofibrosis and leukemia, respectively, and the team used their stories to explain the need for donors.
Adding so many donors in just a week was exciting for the CAPs, and they potentially have more excitement coming in the future: one of the most meaningful moments for Campus Ambassadors is when someone they swabbed is matched with a patient in need. While it can take years for matches to happen, sometimes a new registry member is matched right away, because someone in need has already been searching.
“Being a part of Rutgers’ first mega-drive was a serious accomplishment for my time at the university and with Gift of Life,” said Nava. “The preparation and time needed to execute the mega-drive was different from other one-time drives and events. The payoff was so much greater, too, ending in so many donors being added to the global registry. This drive was something for me to be proud of, and I’m glad other students and organizations on campus were able to help us accomplish our goals and help so many families in the future!”
“This was a remarkable experience that truly showcased the power of our community,” said Micah. “With over 400 individuals joining the registry, we didn't just meet our goal, we reached a memorable milestone. This drive was a testament to the dedication of Rutgers’ students and the profound impact we can have when we come together for a common purpose."
As Gift of Life’s recruitment specialist for this team, Jordan Bugg worked with them to help get the best results possible during the drive.
“I could not be prouder of our group at Rutgers for taking on the challenge of hosting a mega event,” said Jordan. “On top of their busy schedules as students, being able to pull off an event of this magnitude shows how dedicated they are to Gift of Life and our mission to save lives. I have no doubt about the amazing impact this event will have on those who are diagnosed with blood cancer and searching for their donors.”
Since 2016, recruitment efforts at Rutgers University have resulted in 83 donor matches for patients, and 10 lifesaving transplants to help cure blood cancer, sickle cell, and inherited immune disorders in both children and adults. Many more are to come in the future!