Last night, the Center for Jewish Life (CJL) gave students the chance to save a life. And all it took was a cheek swab.
Sixty-four students participated in the CJL's bone marrow drive, run by the national Jewish organization Gift of Life.
At the drive, students added their name and cheek cells to an international database of potential donors for bone marrow transplant patients. If a match is found between a patient and someone on the registry, Gift of Life will contact that person and ask for a donation. A person remains in the database for 40 years.
"It all has to do with the fact that the likelihood of a match is much higher within your own ethnic group," Jonny Fluger '08, the president of the CJL and organizer of the event, said. "And the fact that the total Jewish population in the world is small makes it all the more important." Fluger is also a member of The Daily Princetonian Editorial Board.
Though the CJL advertised the event by asking for students with Jewish ancestry, the event allowed any student to register for the database.
Leslie Beck, Gift of Life's recruitment chair, said the organization recently started a new initiative with Alpha Epsilon Pi, a nationwide Jewish fraternity, which has resulted in a significant growth in drives.
Event organizers warned students not to sign up unless they would give serious consideration to donating if contacted.
"Really, it's the last step for a patient, so we want to make sure when we call the donor, they're willing to donate," Beck said.
Gift for Life's literature reminded students that if they backed out after being identified as a match, they could "give false hopes to a patient in desperate need of [their] help."
Most students expressed doubt about whether they would donate if called upon.
"If I ever got the call, it would be a really tough decision," Will Kukin '08 said.
Only about one in 1,000 potential donors actually gets contacted, Sarah Bassin, the Jewish Campus Service Corps fellow, said. She said there are a few people who are hesitant to join the database, but that it's better that they're hesitant now, and not when they're already in the database.
To some, the event's attraction was its Caribbean-themed dinner, which the CJL included to entice students.
Ross Cohen GS said he first heard about a free dinner and only learned of the drive after seeing a sign inside the CJL.
"I felt like I should give something back," he said. "I thought I might as well do what they're asking me to do for the free food."
Colorful decorations and a steel drum player helped give the dinner a Caribbean feel.
Whether or not students participated in the drive because of the free food, the event's organizers were pleased with the turnout.
"It's not just the turnout itself that interests me, but that people will go back to their dorms and talk about [the event]," Fluger said.
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