Change by Doing Explore the world of volunteering and service

Shannon Tavarez

I’ve written before about bone marrow donation. How it is a huge necessity, a huge gift, but not as huge a sacrifice for the donor as it once was (and may still seem in our imaginations). The important thing is to get as many people on the donation register as possible. You are statistically likely to register then spend the rest of your life never being a match for someone in need. But what if you were? What if that one person that could likely die without your help, could be saved? By you.

Sign up to receive an easy Q-tip-like swab kit you simply wipe in your mouth, on the inside of your cheek, and mail back so they can test and establish your donor profile. That’s it, for now. Nobody is going to stick you with anything sharp. It is just getting yourself in the computer bank so that if a match ever comes up, you will be notified that you can be the answer for another. But for now, just register. www.getswabbed.org

This little girl in the photo above and video below, Shanon Tavarez, just made her Broadway debut as Little Nala in The Lion King a handful of weeks ago. Then, in April, was diagnosed with AML Leukemia. She needs a bone marrow donor to save her life, and is currently undergoing chemo every day. That’s the face to this. It isn’t hypothetical, it is real, and your impact on the world is real when you reach out this way.