NAIA Announces Partnership with the Gift of Life Marrow Registry
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has signed a three-year partnership with the Gift of Life Marrow Registry as the Official Stem Cell & Marrow Registry Partner of the NAIA.
Gift of Life Marrow Registry is a public blood stem cell and bone marrow registry that facilitates transplants for individuals battling leukemia, lymphoma, and other blood-related diseases.
“We are thrilled to partner with the NAIA to reach a new generation of potential donors,” said Gift of Life Marrow Registry Founder & CEO Jay Feinberg. “NAIA student-athletes are known for their dedication, commitment, and community spirit, making them ideal candidates to join our life-saving registry. By joining forces, we can raise awareness about the importance of blood stem cell and marrow donation and inspire more young people to become potential lifelines for those in need.”
Gift of Life Marrow Registry has a long history of collaboration with collegiate athletics, which has been instrumental in creating a more diverse database.
For the past several years, Webber International University’s (Fla.) men’s lacrosse team has partnered with the Gift of Life Marrow Registry for their campaign, Swab for Saxton. Saxton Dunlap committed to play lacrosse at WIU but was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma and was searching for a donor. In Saxton’s memory, Swab for Saxton was established by his parents, Kristie and Alan Dunlap, and WIU men’s lacrosse head coach, Chris Burdick, to encourage student-athletes to join the donor registry.
“We are incredibly honored to be partnering with Gift of Life Marrow Registry – an organization deeply personal to the NAIA and our members,” said NAIA President & CEO Jim Carr. “Through this partnership, we hope to increase awareness and, ultimately, expand the number of student-athletes participating in the Gift of Life’s lifesaving registry.”
ABOUT NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS (NAIA) The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., is a governing body of small athletics programs that are dedicated to character-driven intercollegiate athletics. NAIA members provide more than 83,000 student-athletes with opportunities to play college sports, earn $1.3 billion in scholarships and compete in 29 national championships. naia.org | @NAIA
ABOUT GIFT OF LIFE MARROW REGISTRY Gift of Life Marrow Registry is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping children and adults battling leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell, other cancers, and genetic disorders find matching donors for lifesaving blood stem cell and bone marrow transplants. The registry houses its own state-of the-art stem cell collection center, biobank and laboratory. To learn more about Gift of Life Marrow Registry, visit www.giftoflife.org.