« All Events

  • This event has passed.

Mandi Schwartz Marrow Donor Registration Drive at Yale

April 15 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm

In recognition of the impact her courageous battle with cancer has had on efforts to save lives through marrow donor registration drives, the Yale athletic department is once again holding a drive in memory of women’s ice hockey player Mandi Schwartz ’10 (Wilcox, Sask.) (1988-2011). This is Yale’s 17th annual drive, matching Mandi’s uniform number (17).

The Mandi Schwartz Marrow Donor Registration Drive at Yale, which is part of the nationwide NMDP Get in the GameSM campaign, offers multiple ways for people to register for the chance to become a life-saving marrow donor. Donors who could help save lives are located through testing that consists of simple cheek swabs.

  • Join in person at Beinecke Plaza on Tuesday, Apr. 15, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  The drive is open to anyone aged 18-40.
    • There will also be a site at Steep Café in Kline Tower from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
  • At any time, anyone who cannot attend the drive in person at Yale can go on-line to  my.nmdp.org/YaleSaves or text YaleSaves to 61474 to start the process of joining the NMDP RegistrySM.

Yale’s drives are part of the NMDP Get in the GameSM program, which started at Villanova in 1992 under the guidance of head football coach Andy Talley. The program involves college athletic teams organizing drives on their campuses. Talley has since partnered with NMDPSM, formerly known as the National Marrow Donor Program and Be The Match, to take his efforts to the national level. Larry Ciotti, a long-time assistant football coach at Yale, is a friend of Talley’s and brought the idea to Yale in 2008-09.

The NMDP Get in the GameSM program, including more than 250 partnered schools, has added more than 200,000 people to the NMDP RegistrySM. Those efforts have resulted in more than 1,300 life-saving transplants. 

The Yale athletic department has held drives each of the past 16 springs – ever since Mandi was first diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in December of 2008. Yale’s record-setting drives have added nearly 10,000 potential donors to the NMDP RegistrySM, and at least 102 life-saving donor matches for patients in need have been located through the Bulldogs’ efforts. 

Yale’s drives were led by the football team and women’s ice hockey team each of the first two years. In 2011, the field hockey team began assisting. In 2018 the men’s soccer team joined these efforts. In 2022 the Yale volleyball team joined, and in 2023 the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams joined. This year the gymnastics team and the men’s ice hockey team have joined.

Members of these teams help spread the word about the need for donors to their classmates, friends and relatives. They also volunteer to help on Drive Day.

Mandi’s story has been one of the catalysts behind the success of the Yale drives. In her battle with cancer, she required a blood stem cell transplant to give her a new immune system. With no genetically matching adult donor available, in September 2010 she had a transplant using two anonymously donated units of umbilical cord blood. A biopsy in December 2010 indicated that she had relapsed, and she passed away at home in Saskatchewan on Apr. 3, 2011.

Mandi’s plight shed further light on the needs of cancer patients everywhere, and the value of marrow donation. Every year, thousands of people of all ages are diagnosed with leukemia and other life-threatening diseases. Many of them will pass away unless they get a marrow or umbilical cord blood transplant from a matching donor. Seventy percent of these patients do not have a fully matched donor in their family and depend on the NMDP RegistrySM to find a genetic match to save their life.

To join the NMDP RegistrySM, an individual must:

  • Be between the ages of 18 and 40
  • Meet certain health guidelines 
  • Be willing to donate to any patient in need

The donor test consists of simple cheek swabs and will only take approximately 15 minutes.

Those who registered at previous drives are already in the NMDP RegistrySM, so there is no need for them to register again.Yale is seeking to add as many NEW potential donors as possible.

Those interested in helping with the Mandi Schwartz Marrow Donor Registration Drive at Yale can contact Larry Ciotti with the Yale football team at larry.ciotti@yale.edu.