Gift of Life Partners with Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternity

Gift of Life Marrow Registry is excited to announce its partnership with Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternity. Through this partnership, chapters of the fraternity at universities across the United States will help recruit new blood stem cell and bone marrow donors to Gift of Life’s registry to save the lives of blood cancer patients.

“Through the national reach of Phi Sigma Pi chapters, together we have the potential to bring in thousands of new marrow donors in the demographic most often requested by transplant centers, those who are 18 to 25 years old,” said Gift of Life Recruitment Manager Traci Ackerman. "Our goal is to work with every chapter during the 2022-23 academic year."

"Phi Sigma Pi Members are eager to leave an impact in their communities and across the world by improving humanity with honor,” said Phi Sigma Pi Executive Director, Suzanne Schaffer, CAE. “Partnering with Gift of Life allows us to educate ourselves and others for the most important reason, an opportunity to save a life."

During the 2021-22 academic year, brothers of the Gamma Eta Chapter at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla. and the Alpha Eta Chapter at the University of Delaware in Newark, Del. worked with Gift of Life to add new donors, who join the registry through completing a cheek swab and a short medical questionnaire.

“We will be attending the Phi Sigma Pi national conference this summer to share this incredible community service partnership with all the chapters," said Ackerman. "It’s a great opportunity for these young leaders to take action that will result in lives being saved.”

Gift of Life is a national registry for volunteer donors of peripheral blood stem cells and bone marrow, used to cure patients worldwide who are battling blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma, as well as diseases such as inherited immune disorders and sickle cell. The stem cell donation process is similar to donating blood platelets. To date, Gift of Life has registered 400,000 active donors and has saved more than 4,100 patient’s lives.

Melanie Hart, Phi Sigma Pi Gamma Eta Scholarship Chair is also a Gift of Life Marrow Registry Campus Ambassador. It was her initiative that began this incredible partnership.

“When I hosted the first Gift of Life event for my Phi Sigma Pi Gamma Eta fellow members, I saw it as a unique opportunity to serve those in need, and was excited to get our members involved,” said Hart. “We, as a chapter, are beside ourselves with the success of our efforts, and are very grateful that other chapters across the nation will have the same opportunities for outreach with Gift of Life. We are excited to see this partnership grow and potentially facilitate lifesaving transplants for blood cancer patients.”

To join the Gift of Life registry or make a financial contribution, potential donors and contributors may visit giftoflife.org.

About Gift of Life Marrow Registry

Gift of Life Marrow Registry is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Boca Raton, Fla. Established in 1991, Gift of Life Marrow Registry is dedicated to saving lives by facilitating blood stem cell and bone marrow transplants for patients battling leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell, inherited immune disorders, and other blood-related diseases. To learn more about Gift of Life Marrow Registry, visit www.giftoflife.org.

About Phi Sigma Pi

Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternity (ΦΣΠ) is a gender-inclusive national honor fraternity based in the United States, with the purpose of fostering the ideals of scholarship, leadership, and fellowship. Phi Sigma Pi is organized into approximately 140 collegiate chapters at four-year collegiate institutions and several regionally established alumni chapters and associations serving approximately 50,000 members. To learn more about Phi Sigma Pi visit phisigmapi.org.