OPP Spotlight: Gift of Life
While many gifts are given with unselfish intentions, only one gift can be commended for total altruism.
Gift of Life Marrow Registry enables those who are able to give, connect with those who need. You might not have heard of them referred to as “general blood cancers” before, but leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma – all originating in blood and bone marrow – were responsible for almost 10% of deaths from cancer in 2018. Gift of Life grows its registry database each day in hopes of facilitating bone marrow transplants when matches are found for both children and adults.
So, what would happen if Gift of Life gave AEPi the chance to give? What if a donor registry joined forces with the Jewish fraternity instilled with an incredibly prominent sense of Tikkun Olam? The results from the last 15 years of Brother involvement are extraordinary.
13,327 potential donors have been added to the Gift of Life registry.
419 of those donors have been matched with recipients.
61 life saving transplants have been performed.
The numbers serve as a source of pride for Brothers everywhere, and grow with each coming day. Whether it’s the dedication of campus ambassadors who host swabbing drives on campus or the Brothers themselves who receive the call, AEPi takes the opportunity to save lives seriously.
Jeffrey Altadonna (Oregon, 2010)
Brother Altadonna was a match for a woman in her 70s battling a form of leukemia, whose best hope of a cure was a peripheral blood stem cell transplant. Without hesitation, he donated stem cells to save her life.
“I admit when I got the call that I was a match I was skeptical at first – I can’t win a raffle, but I get to save a life!” he joked. “Seriously though, I never questioned going through with it,” said Altadonna.
With an Official Philanthropy Partnership like this, AEPi is proud to add to the list of stories like this for years to come.
You can stay up-to-date with our progress through Gift of Life’s AEPi donor circle page, which keeps record of recent matches and is updated daily.
For more information about adding your name to the registry, visit giftoflife.org.
O.P.P. Spotlight features the latest updates from AEPi’s Official Philanthropy Partners. This segment serves to educate readers on the nature of the organization deemed an official partner, to show its impact through the actions of our Brothers and to inform those who wish to get involved.
Go back to cover