Gift of Life Australia (GOLA) was initially established in 1998 by the late Shula Endrey Walder, in association with Wolper Jewish Hospital, to recruit potential donors to the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry (ABMDR). This program was originally run predominantly in the Jewish community, with regular testing sessions at Wolper Jewish Hospital and other Jewish communal events being held at the time.
Gift of Life Australia continues to be supported by Wolper Jewish Hospital and, more recently, the Australian Tissue Donation Network. Both are not-for-profit organisations that are working closely with the ABMDR and its ‘Strength to Give’ program to establish a database of potential stem cell donors especially for under-represented ethnic groups.
The ABMDR has identified the ideal type of potential donors to be people between the ages of 18-35 years, preferably male. By having people from a diverse range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds register, a wide immunological range of potential donors will be obtained. This increase in donors will improve the chances of a life being saved and hopefully reduce the need for overseas donors or imperfectly matched donors.
The very good news is that no longer do you have to have blood taken to join the ABMDR – all it takes is a cheek swab! You can request a swab kit online via Gift of Life Australia and swab in the comfort of your own home, or with you we can organise a swab event at your sports club, place of work, university or wherever you can gather a group pf like-minded people. Education regarding the program will be provided prior to the issue of cheek swabs to enable a person to make a well-informed decision to join the ABMDR and have the opportunity to save a life. And it doesn’t get much better than that!
