On Saturday, September 13, Dublin HOSA, the student organization for future health professionals, and Swab4Dublin, a student-led organization dedicated to bone marrow donor registration, hosted a booth for the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) at Dublin’s annual Splatter Festival. NMDP, formerly known as Be The Match, is the leading nonprofit organization for bone marrow and stem cell donations for patients suffering from blood borne diseases. The organization allows those between the ages of 18 and 40 to be added to the largest stem cell registry in the world after a simple cheek swab, upon which they may be called on to support a patient in the future. If they accept, NMDP handles all associated costs, including transportation, lost paychecks, childcare, etc. for the donor and a friend.
This event was held in coordination with Ms. Lauren Barhite, account manager and longtime volunteer with NMDP in the Bay Area. She hosts volunteer events such as the one at Splatter to spread awareness about the cause and expand the registry. Her dedication to the cause was a huge driver of what made the event possible. Her time and effort into working with high school volunteers to make a difference was highly appreciated.
At Splatter, HOSA and Swab4Dublin were seeking both people to join the registry as well as monetary donations to cover costs for other donors. Both organizations garnered over 15 volunteers throughout the 8.5 hour shift, who worked hard in pitching our organization to passerby and encouraging donation. “Splatter tends to be a difficult event since it’s mostly people our age,” shared Hailey, one of the officers for Swab4Dublin. “Not only is this age group largely unable to join the registry, but also, they are harder to convince to donate money, since most people are just looking for food.”
This led to a drop in momentum at various times throughout the event, and HOSA and Swab volunteers utilized a variety of methods to stay motivated. After each time someone completed a cheek swab and joined the registry, the group rang a bell and cheered loudly, “We have a donor!!!”, continuing the long-standing NMDP tradition. The volunteers also spread out beyond the NMDP booth, garnering support from Splatter attendees all around Emerald Glen Park. Finally, by instituting short breaks, the volunteers were able to rejuvenate and return to the booth with new energy to pitch to attendees.
A number of the volunteers at the event described the experience as great “rejection therapy.” While pitching the organization and encouraging donations, volunteers were often ignored and purposefully tuned out. While the experience was demotivating at first, with rejection after rejection, volunteers improved their pitches and became more comfortable with putting themselves in a public venue.
“Splatter was a fun event and allowed lots of underclassmen to gain [volunteer] hours with NMDP,” shared Jerry Ong, another presiding officer for Swab4Dublin. “I hope that more students will attend these types of events to gain valuable experiences.”
Ms. Lauren also shared her final thoughts and notes about the event. “The festival is a great way for us to educate the community regarding the need for stem cell/bone marrow donors. We love working with our local high school volunteers who share our passion for ensuring that anyone that may need a stem cell transplant will have a donor available. It was great to see the Dublin community step up and register many potential donors who may go on to save a life,” she noted.
Overall, Dublin HOSA and Swab4Dublin garnered great support at the event and were satisfied with the turnout, successfully engaging with the community. The organizations are determined to sustain this momentum and host many more successful events throughout the year. These efforts should bring awareness and donor registrations to the NMDP.