STCC School of Health seeks bone marrow donors as part of ‘Be the Match’ event
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Springfield Technical Community College School of Health and Patient Simulation will host a “Be the Match” event April 25 in Building 20 where people can stop by to swab the inside of their mouths and do their part to save lives.
The School of Health is asking the campus community to visit the lobby between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. The donors at the April 25 event will receive instructions, and then Medical Laboratory Technician students will escort them to individual patient examination spaces in the SIMS lab where they can remove their masks and swab their cheek themselves in privacy.
The swab samples will be sent out for testing and categorizing in a database. As part of the laboratory process, donors’ HLA, or human leukocyte antigen markers, will be entered into a national database.
(Note: This event is limited to STCC students, faculty and staff). Participants do not need to register in advance. Anyone who cannot attend in person can order a swab to be delivered to their home. Use this link to order a swab kit if you would like to participate from home.
Susan Schneider, program director in the Clinical Laboratory Science Department, said the timing of the “Be the Match” campaign coincides with National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week, April 24-30. The department organizes an event on campus each year to celebrate the week.
“We’re doing this in celebration and recognition of our profession,” she said.
Medical laboratory professionals provide a vital role in healthcare and saving lives. They have analyzed COVID-19 swabs during the pandemic. They perform sophisticated laboratory analysis to assist doctors in patient diagnosis and treatment. They are responsible for confirming the accuracy of test results and reporting laboratory findings.
“If someone has a blood disorder such as leukemia or other kinds of cancers and is in need of a bone marrow transplant, we can go into the donor marrow library, if you will, and find out if there's somebody who's going to be a potential match,” Schneider said. “And, if a potential match is located, that person would be contacted to see if they're willing to donate some bone marrow to save someone's life.”
Be the Match New England encourages people of color to participate to help close equity gaps in the donor bank. Patients are more likely to match donors who share the same ethnic background.
According to the organization, the following percentages represent the odds of finding a match for a bone marrow transplant based on ethnic background:
- Black or African American: 29 percent
- Asian or Pacific Islander: 47 percent
- Hispanic or Latino: 48 percent
- Native American: 60 percent
- White: 79 percent
“We’re trying to boost the database so there's more possible solutions for people to get transplants,” Schneider said. “The Be the Match event is an immediate way that people from our campus community can save other people’s lives.”
Water, snacks and giveaways will be offered at the event on April 25.
For more information about the Medical Laboratory Technician degree program at STCC, visit stcc.edu/explore/programs/clls.as.