Auburn SAE Adds 208 Stem Cell Donors in Service Drive

Members of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at Auburn University spent two days last week working to expand a national stem cell donor registry, joining a coast-to-coast effort aimed at helping patients with life-threatening blood diseases.

The Auburn chapter partnered with NMDP to host a blood stem cell registry drive on March 4 and March 5 at the fraternity’s house on West Magnolia Avenue. The event was held as part of Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s annual True Gentleman Day of Service.

Across the country, thousands of SAE members and alumni took part in similar service projects designed to support local communities.

In Auburn, the effort focused on expanding the NMDP Registry, which is considered the world’s most diverse blood stem cell donor registry. Over the two-day event, fraternity members swabbed and registered 208 potential donors.

NMDP is a global nonprofit that connects volunteer donors with patients who need blood stem cell transplants to treat conditions such as leukemia and other blood cancers. The organization works with hospitals, physicians and researchers to expand access to cell therapy and lifesaving treatments.

Sigma Alpha Epsilon selected NMDP as one of its national philanthropy partners. Since that partnership began, SAE chapters across the country have helped add about 33,000 people to the registry. Roughly 133 of those volunteers have later gone on to donate stem cells to patients in need of a transplant.

Founded in 1856, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is one of the nation’s oldest and largest fraternities, with more than 200 chapters and a broad alumni network. The organization promotes leadership, scholarship, service and personal development through its guiding principle known as the “True Gentleman.”