Help Save A Life From Your Couch

FORT WORTH — A group of medical students at the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine are a part of an Oncology Interest Group that launched, “Couch 2 Cure” a Virtual Bone Marrow Drive campaign in collaboration with the national Be The Match organization.

The public can be a part of the campaign through July 10 all from the comfort of their own home.

“Yes you can save a life from your couch,” Edmundo Esparza, a second-year-medical student at the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine said. “If you follow the instructions we’ve listed, you can have a swap kit mailed directly to your house today for free.

Be The Match, is a national organization that facilitates both bone marrow and umbilical cord transplants. Bone marrow transplants can save the lives of patients with lymphoma, leukemia and other genetic disorders.

There are 3 basic guidelines the public needs to follow for joining Be the Match:
• Must be 18-44 years of age
• Be in general good health
• Be willing and committed to donate to any patient in need

You can join the campaign by visiting join.bethematch.org/fwmd or send a text message to 61474. Once you’re on the website you fill out your information and have a complete kit mailed to your home address. Once you receive the kit you can take a swab inside your mouth, place the swab back into the kit and mail it back.

“Signing up for the registry today is the first step that you can take to actually saving someone’s life,” Esparza said.You can also help the spread the word about student bone marrow drive  by posting a picture or video on social media of your donation using #fwmdbethecure.