$250,000 grant supports the country’s first registry-operated apheresis center, which can speed up the stem cell transplant process
September 12 – Gift of Life Marrow Registry announced today it has received a $250,000 grant from the Florida Blue Foundation to support the registry’s newly-opened, groundbreaking stem cell collection center in Boca Raton, Fla. This gift is based on the passion Gift of Life and Florida Blue share: to save lives and positively impact communities.
Gift of Life dedicated the stem cell collection center in April at the launch of its new world headquarters in Boca Raton, as part of an initiative to make the stem cell transplant process quicker, which is critical to saving lives. Stem cell transplantation can cure nearly 100 diseases, including leukemia, lymphoma, and sickle cell disease, if a tissue type match can be found between the patient and a volunteer donor. The time between diagnosis and the transplant is crucial for the patient: the sooner the transplant happens, the better the prognosis – every minute counts.
Gift of Life is the only registry in the United States with an integrated stem cell collection center, enabling the organization to recruit donors, notify them immediately if they are found as a match for a patient, and bring them to collection quickly to meet the crucial timeframe for transplant.
“We are honored to consider the Florida Blue Foundation our partners in saving lives and we thank the foundation for its confidence in Gift of Life,” said Gift of Life Founder and CEO Jay Feinberg. “By supporting our new stem cell collection center, Florida Blue’s generosity will help us save even more lives. By speeding the time between finding a matching donor to the actual transplant, we can save many more patients desperately in need of lifesaving stem cell transplants.”
The facility is the realization of a long-held dream of Feinberg’s to make the donation process faster and smoother, while giving donors a comfortable and pleasant experience.
Florida Blue Foundation enables healthy communities by making grants, building coalitions and rewarding best practices. More than three million people in Florida have received direct health services as a result of grants to nonprofit organizations since its founding in 2001.
“Finding a match is critical for patients battling blood cancer, and the Florida Blue Foundation is proud to be working together with the Gift of Life Marrow Registry to try to expedite that process,” says Florida Blue South Florida Market President Penny Shaffer. “Our mission is to help people and communities achieve better health, and we know that supporting this innovative stem cell collection center will help change and save lives.”
Since its start in 1991, Gift of Life Marrow Registry has grown to more than 340,000 individuals who have volunteered to donate blood stem cells or bone marrow to save a life. To date, Gift of Life has facilitated over 16,500 matches for those with leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell, and nearly 100 other diseases, resulting in more than 3,400 transplants.
About Gift of Life Marrow Registry
Gift of Life Marrow Registry is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Boca Raton, Fla. The organization, established in 1991, is dedicated to saving lives by facilitating bone marrow and blood stem cell transplants for patients with leukemia, lymphoma, and other blood-related diseases. To learn more about Gift of Life Marrow Registry, visit www.giftoflife.org
About Florida Blue Foundation
The Florida Blue Foundation enables healthy communities by making grants, building coalitions and rewarding best practices. More than three million people in Florida have received direct health services as a result of grants made to nonprofit organizations since our founding in 2001. Florida Blue Foundation is a trade name of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Foundation, Inc., an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. For more information, please visit www.FloridaBlueFoundation.com.
