NORTHEAST TALLAHASSEE, FL \u2014 A rising sophomore at Maclay School has swabbed more than 130 people for the bone marrow registry since February.<\/p>\n
WATCH FULL REPORT BELOW:<\/p>\n
Tallahassee sophomore pushes to grow bone marrow donor pool through drives at Leon County Schools<\/p>\n
Now, she wants to bring the effort to public and charter schools across Leon County.<\/p>\n
Abby Stephens launched the project, Athletes for Life<\/a>, for her Gold Award Girl Scout<\/a> project, inspired by Ancil Carruthers, a close family friend and Florida A&M University professor battling a rare cancer<\/a>.<\/p>\n The cure requires a perfect stem cell match, but according to the Gift of Life<\/a>, 71% of Black patients are unable to find one.<\/p>\n Stephens said the lack of young and diverse donors in the registry drove her to act.<\/p>\n \u201cThe problem with that project that I’m trying to address is that there aren’t a lot of young and diverse donors in the bone marrow registry, which is why a lot of patients can’t find life-saving matches,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was creating this project, one thing I realized is that high schools specifically have a lot of young, healthy people that could potentially become donors in one area.\u201d<\/p>\n The bone marrow registry seeks donors between 18 and 35 years old.<\/p>\n Friday, she recently completed a \u201cSenior Swab\u201d at Maclay School<\/a>.<\/p>\n She was able to swab 26 seniors.<\/p>\n As soon as they turn 18, they will be added to the registry.<\/p>\n Since starting in February, five people have been able to find matches through her efforts.<\/p>\n “It really means a lot to me to have all of these people so supportive towards my project, because the patients, they’re real people,” Stephens said.<\/p>\n With an expansion to public and charter schools, Stephens says, will help her reach her goal of registering 2,000 people.<\/p>\n The effort has already drawn support from Leon County School Board member Laurie Cox, who knows both the Stephens and Carruthers families.<\/p>\n “All of us have friends or family that are dealing with cancer, and if this is an initiative that can help save someone’s life, I think it’s great to let people know of the need, but also to hopefully be part of a solution as well,” Cox said.<\/p>\n She says high school principals would need to support the drives and ensure they follow school policy.<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully there won’t be too much pushback,\u00a0but hopefully we can open that door to allow this initiative to be brought to our schools,\u201d Cox said.<\/p>\n Stephens is also working to make the program last beyond her own time at school.<\/p>\n “I’m also trying to create a framework so that senior swabs can stay at my school, public schools, charter schools, and other private schools after I graduate,” Stephens said.<\/p>\n Stephens will present the expansion idea to the Leon County School Board on Tuesday.<\/p>\n She\u2019s also hosting a swab at the Battle Lions<\/a> soccer game on Saturday, June 6th.<\/p>\n Information about upcoming swabs will be posted on the Athletes for Life 850<\/a> Instagram page.<\/p>\n ***This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.***<\/p>\n Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website. <\/a><\/p>\n Stay in touch with us anywhere, anytime.<\/p>\n Like us on Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n Follow us on Instagram <\/a>and X.<\/a><\/p>\n