There are currently over 1,000 Canadians waiting to find their match. No, not on a dating site, but on a stem cell transplant list.
Lisa Beechinor with Canadian Blood Services says her team will be dropping by the Arts Tunnel at the University of Saskatchewan between 10 and 2 p.m. tomorrow to add some names to the donor registry.
Last year, the Swab at School initiative generated 2,000 signups across Canada. This year, CBS hopes to reach 3,000.
“They need to be between the ages of 17 and 35, in good general health, and be willing to be on the stem cell registry until age 60.”
To sign up, all you have to do is swab your cheek, send it in, and wait for a call that you’ve matched with someone on the list.
“Currently we need Black, Indigenous, Asian, Hispanic, and people with mixed heritage, as right now, they collectively only make up a third of our national stem cell registry. We need more of those ethnic backgrounds in order to better meet the needs of patients.”
She says if you do end up being someone’s match, the process of donating stem cells is quite similar to donating blood and rarely includes surgery like many suggest.





















