Swabbing for Life

Hundreds of Tulane students were busy swabbing cheeks and adding entries to the International Bone Marrow Registry this past week, across the Tulane uptown campus and throughout greater New Orleans. This year's drive, spearheaded by Tulane Hillel leaders Jillian Goldberg and Mia Wirtshafter, aims to involve more than the 500 people whose cheeks were swabbed last year. Last year's drive yielded one successful bone marrow donor match and another potential match.

Jillian Goldberg, center, a sophomore member of Tulane Hillel, is leading volunteers who are campaigning to have people sign up to be potential bone marrow donors. Goldberg became interested in bone marrow matching programs after babysitting a sick child whose family turned to an international registry from which a donor was identified for a life-saving bone marrow transplant.

Swabs taken from the inside of a cheek, which contain a potential donor's DNA, are affixed to a card that will be sent to the International Bone Marrow Registry with the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation.

The Tulane Hillel bone marrow donor drive garners lots of interest from students in Bruff Commons on the uptown campus Thursday (Feb. 17).

Hillel students will hold a donor drive at the uptown Jewish Community Center on Wednesday (Feb. 23) from 2:30 until 6 p.m. In partnership with the Tulane Office of Multicultural Affairs, Tulane students also will conduct a drive on Wednesday (Feb. 23) from 7 until 9 p.m. at the Spirit and Truth Family Worship Center, 1501 Ursulines Ave., New Orleans, and on Thursday (Feb. 24) from 7 until 9 p.m. at the worship center at 2138 Stumpf Blvd., Gretna. All minority populations are underrepresented on the donor registry.