Congratulations University of Minnesota Duluth!

Students registered over 1,000 new donors!

An overwhelming 1,069 students made a decision to be a hero yesterday; they registered as lifesaving bone marrow donors at the University of Minnesota Duluth donor drive hosted by the Multicultural Pharmacy Student Organization. Every year more than 10,000 patients are diagnosed with a life-threatening blood cancer for which a marrow transplant is their only hope for a cure. This outpouring of support from the UMD community gives hope to the thousands of patients searching for their lifesaver.

DKMS would like to thank the incredible drive organizers and the 100 volunteers they gathered who made this lifesaving event possible. Maggie Kading, the pharmacy student leading this effort stated, “I am so excited about the turnout we had today! We weren't sure what to expect when we started this morning, but today amazed and encouraged us! The determination and enthusiasm of volunteers made everything a success. It was so exciting to see people signing up and to see how much they cared about patients who need bone marrow transplants. Today was a huge success in every way!”

An amazing $10,400 was raised by the students to help cover the costs of the tissue typing tests, including a grant from the Target Foundation. DKMS still needs to raise $59,000 to fully cover the registration costs from UMD’s donor drive. The cost to DKMS for registering just one new potential bone marrow donor is $65. DKMS does not receive government funding and is therefore dependant on donations from the general public. Please show your support for the student initiative and contribute today. Tax deductible donations can be made online in honor of the student drive,code UNI053. Every dollar counts!

For those who missed the donor drive, it is not too late to register as a bone marrow donor! Visit DKMS on the web and order a registration kit online. You might be the one to save a life!