For a common cause
University at Buffalo students gathered in the Flag Room of the Student Union on Tuesday, determined to find matches for patients in need of bone marrow transplants.
The drive marked the launch of a new program at the university, called the Common Cause. This program will utilize the diversity at UB to help save the lives of sufferers of leukemia, lymphoma and other blood-related diseases.
“It’s great that we started a program here because we can use the diversity of the campus to our advantage,” said Fatema Isa, the secretary for Common Cause. “We need a bunch of different people from different ethnic and racial backgrounds … matches are usually made to people of the same backgrounds.”
The program was created by Babu Dinesababu, a junior business major who became involved with the National Marrow Donor Program in high school and frequently held drives. He then decided to train to become an ambassador for the organization in college.
At UB, Dinesababu put his training to good use and became active in the cause. He started holding drives at Rely for Life in Alumni Arena, sometimes unsupervised, because he was that passionate about beginning a bone marrow donor program on campus.
“I really have never heard of a program like this or anything like it before … You never know who might need this. It might be me, it might be you,” Dinesababu said. “I had a goal. I wanted to graduate knowing I left something behind at the university, a program that could help a lot of people. It’s a program that the students may one day be dependent on.”
According to Andrilisa Read, the international event coordinator for the Student Association, there are many misconceptions about what, exactly, entails joining the bone marrow registry and how the transplant procedure is actually done. For these reasons, she feels the program is necessary.
“When [Babu] sent me an email with the idea, I thought it was great,” Read said. “I think there is a lot of concern when the people hear the words ‘bone marrow transplant.’ I felt the same way. People think it is a painful process.”
After watching an informational video on the Common Cause Facebook page and hearing of other people’s testimonials, Read decided to join the registry.
“This is such a great cause. I’m glad the program is now under SA … it will spread the word to people who are already under that umbrella,” Read said.
When one joins the registry, neither needles nor blood are involved; instead, simple cheek swabs are taken. The swab samples are taken to a laboratory, where DNA markers will be added into the registry. A person will be on the registry until he or she is 61.
“If an individual is found to be a suitable match for someone who needs a marrow transplant, then most often the transplant can be done completely through the blood,” Dinesababu said. “The second method of donation is marrow donation, though this is far less commonly done now … the doctor will request marrow through a surgical procedure.”
Dinesababu explains that this process is not as severe as many people may believe. A donor will be given general or regional anesthesia, so no pain will be felt. The liquid marrow will be extracted from the lower hip area. Some donors complain of soreness, but it goes away within a few days.
Read’s decision to donate was an easy one, and she hopes to educate more people about the procedure so that they will feel comfortable with volunteering as well.
“I know if I was someone in that position, I would be in dire need [of a transplant because it is in high demand]. Sometimes it’s hard for people to put themselves in someone else’s position,” Read said. “I’ve had family members that needed surgeries, not for bone marrow, but for other things, so I know what it’s like to know people who are sitting in the hospital in need of care.”
Dinesababu’s primary goal for the future is to coordinate different SA clubs such as the Black Student Union, the Latin American Student Association and others that have large amounts of people from particular backgrounds.
“In a large school like this, it is only a matter of time and numbers before we find matches and ensure transplants,” Dinesababu said. “A moment of [a student’s] time may actually give someone else the rest of theirs.”
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