Project Life

Project Life Movement has one overall program services model. Project LifeMovement (PLM) saves lives and cures diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma and sicklecell anemia by growing the number of potential bone marrow donors on the nationalbone marrow registry. For many patients, a bone marrow transplant is their onlytreatment option, and, in many cases, a bone marrow transplant can be a completecure. 20,000 patients need transplants every year; less than half will find a match.The need is greater among minorities as they are significantly under-represented onthe registry. Bottom line, there are not enough people on the registry and there isa devastating healthcare inequity for some groups. PLMs model is simple: weestablish bone marrow drives on college campuses.PLM is becoming a national coalition of colleges that empowers student leaders tohost drives and recruit their classmates to join the national registry. By focusingon college students, PLM targets optimal candidates for non-related bone marrowdonation from both a 2 medical perspective and from an eligibility perspective. Witha simple, quick cheek swab, young, healthy donors register at the youngest agepossible (18) and remain on the registry for years. Our model works because we makeit simple and turnkey for the students. We travel to campus with marketingmaterials, swab kits and educational tools. Students bring their energy and recruittheir classmates. We are highly- collaborative and empower students in theirvolunteer service programming.In November 2018, Gift of Life became Project Life Movements new clinical partner. Be The Match, our former clinical partner ceased swabbing on college campuses on went toa on-line registry only. Gift of Life provides the swab kits and handles the adding the new registrants on the global registry.The PLM mission remains the same: to add more people to the national registry so that all patients, regardless of race, have a lifesaving bone marrow match.