The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) and Be the Match is a nonprofit-organization that encourages people to join the registry to help match with patients who need transplants.
According to Bethematch.org, “Beyond establishing the registry, we also invested in medical research to find the answers that would save the lives of more patients.”
Terri Haid is the account manager and specializes in membership engagement, enrollment, and experience.
“Phi Theta Kappa has a national partnership with Be the Match,” she said. “Cheek Week is a time that all PTK chapters are encouraged to help find people to enlist in the registrar to help save a life.”
She added that blood stem cell transplants have helped thousands of patients.
“Every year, 12,000 patients are diagnosed with life-threatening blood cancers or other diseases like sickle cell for which a blood stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor may be their best or only hope for a cure,” Bethematch.org reports.
“It is important to help spread awareness of the Be the Match registry and communicate the mission at CLC and all the campuses,” Haid said. “Ultimately, we are trying to grow the registry.”
She discussed how easy it is to save a life as well as the significance of signing up for the registry. The more people who join, the greater the chances of finding matches. It’s also that people of all backgrounds sign up because of the different genetic markers that are inherited.
Haid added that “not everyone that signs up matches – It is just a lucky few.”
The CLC Phi Theta Kappa chapter was the first PTK chapter in the country to match with a recipient last year. Because of confidentiality, it is unknown which student helped save a life last year, but it is still a huge accomplishment.
Haid said Cheek Week has helped bring Phi Theta Kappa together and stressed the importance of such service events to help the community.
Haid described her role in Be the Match as making her responsible for organizing the information booths at Cheek Week. She also led the training and educated PTK members on what being in the registrar entails as well as the science behind the mission. She also got all the cheek swab materials and kits to the three CLC campuses.
She also ensures that enough volunteers are at each event. This year, she sent Anna Wyman, who is a CLC graduate and stem cell transplant recipient, to help spread the word of the registrar by providing students with a success story.
Students interested in joining the registrar should text CLCPhiThetaKappa to 61474. Haid also provided a link: https://my.bethematch.org/CLCPhiThetaKappa. She urged everyone to register and request a kit to be mailed to their home so that they might help save a life.
