The Saving Lives with Pride organization, alongside the UNBC Stem Cell Club, are hoping people will join the stem cell donor registry. It's as easy as getting a cheek swab!

By Tommy Osborne

Stem Cell Club

A simple cheek swab could save a life!

Jul 4, 2025 | 3:55 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – The UNBC Stem Cell Club, alongside the Saving Lives with Pride organization, will be attending the Pride Picnic on July 6 with a simple message: a cheek swab could potentially save a life.

“We’re trying to raise awareness about stem cell donation and the importance of it for people with blood cancer, genetic conditions, immune system disorders. And all it takes is just takes a cheek swab, you fill out a little electronic registration, you do a cheek swab, and you get added to a registry, and there’s the chance that you can save someone’s life,” said Saving Lives with Pride’s coordinator Victoria Bleecker.

The Pride Picnic will be at Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park from 3:00-8:00 p.m., although Bleecker says she and her club will be there as early as noon. She explains the main goal is to shine a light on just how essential stem cell donors are.

“You could be the only match for someone with cancer, with a genetic condition, immune system disorder, and a stem cell donation is a lifesaving treatment for a lot of people, and it can improve their quality of life. By improving the diversity on the registry, it can really make a difference in the lives of those patients,” Bleecker said.

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“We’re really trying to diversify not just LGBTQ, but all all donor registry. In Canada, there’s a notoriously low amount of matches for people who need lifesaving stem cell transplants,” added Chris Nelson, the UNBC Stem Cell Club’s Secretary.

Bleecker explained Saving Lives with Pride began as a part of Stem Cell Club, but has since grown into its own thing. However, given their similar goals, both organizations still work together.

“What we’re trying to raise awareness for is the lack of diversity and inclusion on the stem cell registry. We’re trying to celebrate the heroism of the LGBTQ community, the people who have been donors and have saved lives,” she said.

The upcoming Pride picnic means the Stem Cell Club’s focus will naturally be focused on the LGBTQ community, but Bleecker adds this is just one of many events the club holds to try and bring more donors on the registry.

“There’s the Black Donors Save Lives campaign, Iranian Donors Save Lives campaign, as well as Saving Lives with Pride. And we are actually venturing into some other campaigns: South Asian Donors Save Lives, so really trying to expand our outreach and try to get the word out as much as we can and celebrate the donors that are already out there,” Bleecker said.

While getting on the registry is as simple as signing up online and taking the cheek swab, what about the process of donating itself? Nelson explained you could potentially be flown to the location of the recipient, which would all be paid for, and extracting the stem cells is usually quite similar to donating blood.

“They draw your blood, they filter it out for stem cells, and then they actually put it back in your body, so you don’t have to actually donate any blood. You just have to sit there for a little while to get your stem cells filtered out,” Nelson said.

“If you’ve ever given blood before, it’s even better than that. There’s no super high fatigue levels after when you give blood, and it’s just sitting in a chair for a couple hours letting the machine do its work,” he continued.

The Pride Picnic will also feature many other things, such as live music, food trucks, games, crafts, and more.

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