A 2019 graduate of Frisco’s Heritage High School needs a stem cell donation, but due to a lack of diversity in the registry, he hasn’t found a match and has a significantly lower chance of finding one. (He is Filipino.)
A group of current students at Heritage High School have taken on the charge to raise awareness! They’re hosting a swab drive this Friday, November 15 from 9 am to 6 pm.
It’s easy to support Mission Marrow.
This is Darryl Dugenio. He’s a 2019 graduate of Heritage High School and he is currently in a battle for his life. Darryl has a life-threatening blood condition where his body cannot produce new blood cells. He’s in need of a stem cell donation.
Currently, he’s undergoing weekly blood transfusions to stay alive. Unfortunately, there’s a lack of diversity in the stem cell donation registry and he has not found a match.
Luckily, there’s a group of students who have taken on this cause for their Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) project.
Mission Marrow is the name of the group of students who are trying to raise awareness about stem cell donation.They’re doing what they can to add diversity to the stem cell registry in the hopes that through these efforts we can find a match for Darryl.
There are two parts to their project.
The first is raising awareness and demystifying stem cell donation on their school campus. It began with their spot on Heritage High School’s CNTV and continued with other on-campus education and awareness events.
The second part of their project is to host a swab drive on campus this Friday, November 15th from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. The minimum age to be added to the registry is 18, so the opportunity will only apply to a small fraction of the students.
The maximum age to donate is 44. This is where Heritage High School and Darryl’s family are asking for the support of staff and our greater Frisco community. They’re encouraging all students and staff to reach out to those they know who may be willing to add themselves to the donor registry.
The donation site will be set up very much like a voter registration. The community will park in the east parking lot and will enter through the auditorium doors. They’ll have the school blocked off to prevent strangers from entering the school building.
They’re asking Heritage High School students 18 years or older who want to be added to the registry to do so during their passing time (they’ll provide passes for those students to be a couple of minutes late to class).
Other community members can stop by any time between 9:00 am – 6:00 pm. The entire process is very short and consists of inputting some personal information into an electronic form and then providing a cheek swab.
To be added to the donation registry, please follow this link.
