Every three minutes, someone in the United States is diagnosed with blood cancer. Fortunately, stem cell transplants can help replace damaged blood-forming stem cells with healthy ones following treatments like chemotherapy and radiation.
An estimated 20,000 Americans need a stem cell or marrow transplant every year, but only 30% of patients find a match within their families.
The remaining 70% rely on strangers through donor registries, like Gift of Life Marrow Registry, a nonprofit that sends cheek swab kits to willing donors across the country, in hopes of finding a match for cancer patients in need.
While the cheek swab method has worked for the organization for over two decades, a new technology aims to recruit even more donor sign-ups across younger and more diverse populations.
Introducing: Hero Gum.
Partnering up with Wrigley’s, Gift of Life is now able to collect cheek cells through a wad of chewed-up DoubleMint gum, which determines if a person is a match for a stem cell transplant, also known as a bone marrow transplant.
“By chewing a piece of gum for just five minutes, individuals can provide a viable sample for Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) typing and join the marrow registry — the first step toward potentially saving a life,” a press release stated.
And this new campaign hopes to make it easier — and more fun — than ever.
People interested in joining the donor registry can simply request a Hero Gum kit online to be mailed to their door. From there, they just have to chew the gum for five minutes, place it back in an envelope, and mail it out to be analyzed.
“You just chew, spit, and boom — you could be someone’s hero,” Jay A. Feinberg, the founder and CEO of Gift of Life said in a video. “No needles, no swabs, no stress.”
Labcorp has performed testing for the registry and confirmed that DNA-rich cheek cells left on chewed gum can be analyzed to reliably identify HLA tissue markers, the genetic “fingerprint” used to match donors with patients. These donors can then help save the lives of individuals with leukemia, lymphoma, and other blood cancers and disorders.
“It’s a fantastic way to be able to test quickly, painlessly, non-invasively,” Dr. Brian Caveney, Labcorp's chief medical and scientific officer, said in a video.
The non-invasive DNA collection method aims to encourage more people to join the registry, which improves the odds of a successful match for patients. The closer the HLA match, the greater the likelihood of a successful transplant and full recovery.
By potentially reaching a larger and more diverse audience, the campaign could also help address racial disparities in finding donor matches.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, a person who is white and in need of a bone marrow transplant has a 79% chance of finding a donor through a registry, whereas a person who is Black has a 29% chance.
Increasing the number of donors is crucial to saving more people and closing that gap. And for the people behind these databases, innovation is key.
“Labcorp is proud to power the science behind this innovative and potentially life-saving initiative,” Caveney said in a statement.
“By teaming up with Gift of Life, we’re helping turn a simple act into an opportunity to become a much-needed donor — and advancing our mission to improve health and improve lives.”
The tests are available online now and are also designed to be distributed at high-traffic events, college campuses, and community centers across the country.
But on August 1, the campaign will really kick off with a grand slam, debuting at Citi Field during the New York Mets vs. San Francisco Giants game.
At the game, the Gift of Life team will distribute kits to an estimated 30,000 fans, in what they’re hoping will be the largest single-day bone marrow registry drive in U.S. history.
“For decades, we’ve worked to make joining the registry more accessible — and Hero Gum is one of our most creative approaches yet,” Marti Freund, COO at Gift of Life, said in a statement.
“By turning something as familiar as chewing gum into a potential life-saving act, we’re introducing a fresh, engaging way to connect with younger communities and expand the diversity of our donor base. At its core, this campaign is about broadening awareness and saving more lives.”
Header image courtesy of Gift of Life Marrow Registry
