This past week has been Swab Week – a national week organised by the Sue Harris Trust (and coordinated by the amazing former Leeds J-Soc President Natalie Deller on behalf of the Trust!) aimed to get as many young Jews on the national Bone Marrow register as possible.

A Jew is significantly more likely to be a match with another Jew and by spending the three minutes (or less!) swabbing and joining this register, every student has the opportunity to potentially save a life and become a donor.

Sadly, there are far too many people who suffer from blood cancer, and simply not enough people who survive it. It is a truly aggressive form of Cancer, but one that the simple act of joining the register can help to reduce, and hopefully in the future eliminate with lifesaving treatment.

Sue Harris herself was an active member of Jewish student life, and her and her family have contributed to the vibrancy of our community in her lifetime and in her memory. There are even a number of Jewish students who have over the years needed this lifesaving treatment, and fellow Jewish students who thankfully have been on the register, on hand to help save a life.

It is absolutely imperative on all of us to join this register, and become a potential donor because you simply never know who might need the donation. Swab week is nearly over, and with over 20 campuses engaged in swab events there has been such a wonderful and overwhelming outpouring of support for this campaign. But it isn’t enough, we can never do too much.

If you didn’t get a chance to join or host a swab event on your campus, you still can. Simply email me on [email protected] or DM me on Facebook (Shayna Wise-Till UJS), or find my contact details here. Please do find a time to host an event. A simple swab really could save a life.