A rising sophomore at Maclay School has swabbed more than 130 people for the bone marrow registry since February.
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Tallahassee sophomore pushes to grow bone marrow donor pool through drives at Leon County Schools
Now, she wants to bring the effort to public and charter schools across Leon County.
Abby Stephens launched the project, Athletes for Life, for her Gold Award Girl Scout project, inspired by Ancil Carruthers, a close family friend and Florida A&M University professor battling a rare cancer.
The cure requires a perfect stem cell match, but according to the Gift of Life, 71% of Black patients are unable to find one.
Stephens said the lack of young and diverse donors in the registry drove her to act.
The problem with that project that I’m trying to address is that there aren’t a lot of young and diverse donors in the bone marrow registry, which is why a lot of patients can’t find life-saving matches, she said.
When I was creating this project, one thing I realized is that high schools specifically have a lot of young, healthy people that could potentially become donors in one area.
The bone marrow registry seeks donors between 18 and 35 years old.
Friday, she recently completed a Senior Swab at Maclay School.
She was able to swab 26 seniors.
As soon as they turn 18, they will be added to the registry.
Since starting in February, five people have been able to find matches through her efforts.
“It really means a lot to me to have all of these people so supportive towards my project, because the patients, they’re real people,” Stephens said.
With an expansion to public and charter schools, Stephens says, will help her reach her goal of registering 2,000 people.
The effort has already drawn support from Leon County School Board member Laurie Cox, who knows both the Stephens and Carruthers families.
“All of us have friends or family that are dealing with cancer, and if this is an initiative that can help save someone’s life, I think it’s great to let people know of the need, but also to hopefully be part of a solution as well,” Cox said.
She says high school principals would need to support the drives and ensure they follow school policy.
Hopefully there won’t be too much pushback, but hopefully we can open that door to allow this initiative to be brought to our schools, Cox said.
Stephens is also working to make the program last beyond her own time at school.
“I’m also trying to create a framework so that senior swabs can stay at my school, public schools, charter schools, and other private schools after I graduate,” Stephens said.
Stephens will present the expansion idea to the Leon County School Board on Tuesday.
Shes also hosting a swab at the Battle Lions soccer game on Saturday, June 6th.
Information about upcoming swabs will be posted on the Athletes for Life 850 Instagram page.
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