UNF Students Step Up to Save Lives Through Bone Marrow Drive

UNF Contact: Joanna Norris, Associate Director                  

Department of Public Relations 

(904) 620-2102 

DKMS Contact: James Kirkland, Donor Recruiter 

(212) 209-6722 or James@dkmsamericas.org 

A group of University of North Florida graduate psychology students will come together to use their collective talents to fight for a common cause: saving the lives of patients with blood cancer during a Bone Marrow Drive from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 30, and Thursday, Dec. 1, at the Student Union Osprey Plaza on campus. 

The students have partnered with DKMS, the largest bone marrow donor center in the world, to register bone marrow donors who can provide life-saving matches for patients in desperate need. To register as a donor, participants will fill out a form and then swab the inside of their cheek for tissue-typing. 

UNF psychology graduate students had an opportunity to learn about, and simulate, living with chronic illness in a course with Dr. Lori Lange, a UNF psychology associate professor, and were moved to come together and to make a difference for those with life-threatening illness.  

“You never know if you might be the one—the match,” said Lange. “I registered at a bone marrow donor drive, like the one at UNF, and just so happened to be the match that saved a life. It was an incredible opportunity to do something so benign, yet profoundly significant in the hope and life of another.” 

Registering to become a bone marrow donor is more than a cheek swab; it’s a commitment to help save a life. Donors must be between 18 and 55 and in good general health. When individuals register with DKMS, they will also be listed on the Be The Match Registry^® (operated by the National Marrow Donor Program) and can be found as a donor match for any patient in need of a bone marrow transplant. 

Registering one potential bone marrow donor costs DKMS $65. Because DKMS doesn’t require new donors to pay the registration fee and doesn’t receive government funding, DKMS must rely on donations from the general public to fund donor registrations. If individuals choose to make a donation, 100 percent of the financial contribution is used to register new potential donors.  

The DKMS mission is to save lives by recruiting bone-marrow donors for leukemia patients. More than 27,000 DKMS donors have helped save lives by donating their bone marrow. DKMS is the largest bone marrow donor center in the world with over 2.9 million registered donors. DKMS Americas is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization.  

For more information about DKMS and to learn more about registering as a bone marrow donor, visit www.getswabbed.org. For more information about the UNF Bone Marrow Drive, contact Dr. Lori Lange, UNF Department of Psychology, at (904) 620-1638 or at llange@unf.edu. 

-UNF-