Boca Raton, Fla. (Dec. 20, 2022) – Gift of Life Marrow Registry is teaming up with Omega Phi Alpha (OPhiA), a national service sorority, to host “Gift of Life Week” February 12–19, 2023. This week of recruitment will add new volunteer donors to the registry, and will involve OPhiA chapters and their alumni. Both organizations are looking forward to a variety of life-saving donor recruitment drives and events that week.
The partnership was organized by leukemia survivor and transplant recipient, Brianne Dollar, who is a sister of Alpha Delta Chapter of Omega Phi Alpha at Georgia Southern University. Dollar was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia when she was a high school senior, and when chemotherapy did not cure the disease, a bone marrow transplant was her best chance for survival. Fortunately, a matching donor, Tony Joe Connell, was found for her in Gift of Life’s registry. She not only received a successful bone marrow transplant, Dollar met her lifesaver in 2020 at a Nashville Predators hockey game. Dollar now helps others who are battling blood cancer by recruiting new donors for Gift of Life.
“This collaboration isn’t just incredible for me because it is a mix of my two passions, but also because it truly is a full circle moment,” said Dollar. “I feel incredibly thankful that OPhiA is showing its commitment to service through Gift of Life, and know that together we can help save many lives like mine.”
Brianne Dollar (r) survived leukemia thanks to a bone marrow transplant from her Gift of Life Marrow Registry donor, Tony Joe Connell. An OPhiA sister, Dollar has gone on to recruit hundreds of new donors to help others awaiting a lifesaving transplant.
“Omega Phi Alpha is committed to creating valuable, meaningful, and impactful opportunities for our members to give back,” said Omega Phi Alpha Managing Director Alyssa Bernhardt. “Inspired by a member who received the gift of life, we are looking forward to educating all of our members about the opportunity to save a life through the bone marrow registry.”
With a simple cheek swab, anyone 18 to 35 years old and in general good health can be tested to learn if they are a lifesaving match for someone battling to survive leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell, and other life-threatening diseases. There is no cost to donate blood stem cells or marrow to a patient.
The swabs are tested for tissue type, and if a donor matches a patient in need now or in the future, they will be invited to donate and help save the patient’s life
Since 90% of stem cell and marrow transplants to cure blood cancer are requested from 18- to 35-year-olds, this is an excellent opportunity for college students to pay it forward and give back to the community. Gift of Life Marrow Registry also has Campus Ambassadors on more than 100 campuses across the United States, and has partnerships with notable campus organizations, fraternities, sororities, and many others.
“If you’re healthy and of the right age, please consider joining the registry to help save one of thousands of patients currently battling blood cancer and searching for their lifesaving donors,” said Gift of Life’s Chief Strategy and Operations Officer Marti Freund.
About Gift of Life Marrow Registry
Gift of Life Marrow Registry is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Boca Raton, Fla. The organization, established in 1991, is dedicated to saving lives by facilitating blood stem cell and bone marrow transplants for patients with leukemia, lymphoma, and other blood-related diseases. The registry houses its own state-of-the-art stem cell collection center, biobank, and cellular therapy laboratory. To learn more about Gift of Life Marrow Registry, visit www.giftoflife.org.
About Omega Phi Alpha
Omega Phi Alpha (ΩΦΑ), a national service organization with over 12,000 lifetime members nationwide, is committed to building “Today’s Friends, Tomorrow’s Leaders, Forever in Service.” By embracing diversity through a spirit of inclusion, Omega Phi Alpha strives to foster strong bonds of sisterhood by developing the leadership potential of all members through a strong culture of service. To learn more about Omega Phi Alpha, visit www.omegaphialpha.org.
# # #