April 3, 2012

Mandi Schwartz Marrow Donor Registration Drive at Yale Apr. 19

Join the Be The Match® Registry through the Mandi Schwartz Marrow Donor Registration Drive at Yale!
Part of the "Get in the Game. Save a Life." Program

 

On Dec. 8, 2008, Yale women's hockey center Mandi Schwartz was diagnosed with cancer (acute myeloid leukemia). She returned home to Saskatchewan for treatment. On Jan. 8, 2010 --  after five rounds of strong chemotherapy treatment and 130 days in the hospital put her in remission -- she returned to Yale for the spring semester. She was planning to return to playing hockey in the 2010-11 season, but in April of 2010 she learned that the cancer had returned. 

In an effort to save her life, Mandi received a stem cell transplant in September 2010 at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. But a biopsy in December 2010 revealed that the cancer had returned. She passed away on Apr. 3, 2011 at the age of 23.

Yale has named it annual marrow donor registration drive in Mandi's memory. These drives are led by the field hockey, football and women's ice hockey teams. To date, Yale's drives have added nearly 2,500 people to the Be The Match registry, including a record 921 in 2010. At least six life-saving matches for patients in need have been located through these efforts. One donor was a Yale field hockey player, Lexy Adams.

The Yale women's ice hockey team also holds an annual "White Out for Mandi" fundraiser game in Mandi's memory. Details on the White Out for Mandi are available by clicking here.

Articles:

 

 

HOW YOU CAN HELP  

Marrow donors, and umbilical cord blood donors, help save the lives of 1,000s of patients with life-threatening illnesses.

You can help patients in need by simply spreading the word of the need for donors to your family and friends, or by getting the message directly to those most likely to be able to help with umbilical cord blood donations: expectant couples, OB-GYNs and delivery hospitals. You can also help by getting tested (a simple cheek swab) to see if you could be a marrow donor match for 1,000s of patients in need. 

1. Attend the White Out for Mandi or the Mandi Schwartz Marrow Donor Registration Drive at Yale

2. Send a card or letter showing your support:

Schwartz Family
Box 308
Wilcox, SK S0G 5EO
Canada   

3. Athol Murray College of Notre Dame, Mandi's high school, has a Mandi Schwartz Bursary Fund and is selling "Mandi Inspires Me" wristbands.

4. Become an umbilical cord blood donor:

  • Click here to visit the U.S. National Marrow Donor Program's page with information about umbilical cord blood donation.

5. Join the bone marrow donor registry:

  • Come to the Mandi Schwartz Marrow Donor Registration Drive at Yale (2012 Date TBA)
  • Click here to visit the U.S. National Marrow Donor Program's "Be The Match" website to learn how you can request a bone marrow donor testing kit or find a bone marrow donor testing drive near you.
  • Click here to visit the DKMS Americas bone marrow donor page.
  • Click here to visit the Canadian Blood Services page.
  • Click here for the U.S. National Marrow Donor Program’s list of International donor centers if you are not in the U.S. or Canada.

If you are a member of the news media, please contact sam.rubin@yale.edu with any inquiries. 

 

 

Add a Twibbon supporting Mandi to your Twitter account:

 

2011 Mandi Schwartz Marrow Donor Registration Drive Promotional Video:

Mandi Schwartz Interviewed in January, 2010 after her first comeback from leukemia:

 

Mandi on WTNH's "Good Morning Connecticut" in April 2010:

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