Johnson & Johnson, Be The Match, and DoSomething.org Team Up With Duo Ayo & Teo For Give a Spit About Cancer Campaign

When it comes to needing a bone marrow transplant, white patients have a 77% chance of finding a matched donor, however black patients only have a 23% chance of finding a donor match. The goal of this year's campaign is to get as many young people as possible to join the national bone marrow registry. The more diverse the registry, the more of an increase in potential donors there will be for all patients.

"We're excited for the opportunity to join forces with Johnson & Johnson once again," said Dezmon Gilmore, Head of PR & Talent Relations at DoSomething.org. "We've helped thousands of young people join the registry over the years, and we're excited to engage even more to be lifesaving advocates in 2018."

Since 2011, Give a Spit About Cancer has added 8,000 young people to the bone marrow registry through Be The Match. Of those, 50 have already gone on to give potentially life-saving donations to patients in need.

Brother duo Ayo & Teo, most known for their viral dance challenges and hit single "Rolex," have helped raise awareness to young people through recording a PSA and encouraging their fans to complete the #SwabChallenge and get on the registry!  The PSA can be viewed here.

"We love engaging with our fans on social media, and we've seen how much they love competing in our dance challenges ," said Ayo & Teo. "We're excited to join forces with DoSomething.org and Johnson & Johnson for the #SwabChallenge, to get more young people aware of their power to defeat cancer."

From March 27th until April 30th, young people can host their own bone marrow registration drives in their local communities, or on college campuses. People can register for the national bone marrow registry through Be The Match by filling out a 15 minute online form. From there it's simple, Be The Match sends a swab kit. All you have to do is swab some spit from your cheek (following the detailed instructions and then mail it in with the prepaid envelope provided. From there, Be The Match will notify people if they are a potential match.

Another way to support the "Give a Spit About Cancer" campaign is by downloading the Donate a Photo app available on the iTunes App Store and in Google Play. For every photo taken in the app before May 27th, 2018, Johnson & Johnson will donate $1 to DoSomething.org to offset the costs associated with joining the Be The Match registry.

To participate in Give a Spit About Cancer, text SPIT to 38383 or visit DoSomething.org/spit.

About Johnson & Johnson

At Johnson & Johnson, we believe good health is the foundation of vibrant lives, thriving communities and forward progress. That's why for more than 130 years, we have aimed to keep people well at every age and every stage of life. Today, as the world's largest and most broadly-based health care company, we are committed to using our reach and size for good. We strive to improve access and affordability, create healthier communities, and put a healthy mind, body and environment within reach of everyone, everywhere. We are blending our heart, science and ingenuity to profoundly change the trajectory of health for humanity."

About DoSomething.org

DoSomething.org is the largest tech company exclusively for young people and social change. We're activating 5.5 million young people (and counting!) to do good in every US area code and in 131 countries. Using our digital platform, members join DoSomething's volunteer and civic action campaigns to make offline impact at scale. Our members have clothed half of America's homeless youth. They've cleaned up 3.7 million cigarette butts. They've run the world's largest youth-led sports equipment drive. And more! Young people have the power and the passion to transform their communities -- we help them get it done. Let's Do This.

About Be The Match

For people with life-threatening blood cancers—like leukemia and lymphoma—or other diseases, a cure exists. Be The Match connects patients with their donor match for a life-saving marrow or umbilical cord blood transplant. People can contribute to the cure as a member of the Be The Match Registry®, financial contributor or volunteer. Be The Match provides patients and their families one-on-one support, education, and guidance before, during and after transplant.

Be The Match is operated by the National Marrow Donor Program® (NMDP), a nonprofit organization that matches patients with donors, educates health care professionals and conducts research through its research program, CIBMTR® (Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research®), so more lives can be saved. To learn more about the cure, visit BeTheMatch.org or call 1 (800) MARROW-2.

SOURCE DoSomething.org

Related Links

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