Cornell Launches Stem-Cell Donor Drive to Expand National Registry

10,000 students, faculty, and staff expected to join the registry, which could help save lives of blood cancer patients

Published on Mar. 10, 2026

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A large stem-cell donor registration drive planned at Cornell University next week aims to add thousands of young people to the national registry — a step that could help patients with life-threatening blood diseases find life-saving matches. The campaign, called 'Big Red, Big Impact,' will run March 13–20 at locations across the Ithaca campus. Organizers hope 10,000 students, faculty and staff ages 18–35 will take part by completing a quick cheek swab to join the national stem-cell registry.

Why it matters

Stem-cell and bone-marrow transplants are often the only curative treatment for several blood cancers and related diseases. However, most patients must rely on unrelated donors, and only about 25% of patients find a compatible donor within their families. Donors must be between 18 and 35 years old, making college campuses an important place to recruit potential matches.

The details

The effort was inspired by Cornell alumnus Juan Uribe '96, whose 15-year-old son Max is facing bone marrow failure and a high risk of developing blood cancer. In February, Uribe posted a TikTok video asking for help finding a donor, which reached over 21 million people and prompted nearly 40,000 requests for at-home donor testing kits. Joining the registry requires only a 30-second cheek swab that is used to identify immune-system markers needed for transplant matching.

  • The 'Big Red, Big Impact' campaign will run from March 13-20, 2026 at Cornell's Ithaca campus.
  • In February 2026, Cornell alumnus Juan Uribe posted a viral TikTok video asking for help finding a donor for his son Max.

The players

Juan Uribe

A Cornell alumnus whose 15-year-old son Max is facing bone marrow failure and a high risk of developing blood cancer.

Max Uribe

The 15-year-old son of Juan Uribe who is facing bone marrow failure and a high risk of developing blood cancer.

National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP)

A nonprofit organization that manages the national stem-cell registry and coordinates transplants.

Erica Sevilla

A spokesperson for the National Marrow Donor Program.

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What they’re saying

“We constantly have people aging off the registry. So we have to keep adding new, young, diverse registry members and potential donors.”

— Erica Sevilla, Spokesperson, National Marrow Donor Program

“This started off as a personal search to help my son find a perfect match donor. But I realized this is a need that many other families have — and that could help save thousands of lives.”

— Juan Uribe

What’s next

The 'Big Red, Big Impact' stem-cell donor registration drive will run from March 13-20, 2026 at locations across Cornell's Ithaca campus. Organizers hope to add 10,000 new potential donors to the national registry during the week-long campaign.

The takeaway

This drive highlights the critical need to expand the national stem-cell donor registry, especially with donors from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. By joining the registry, college students and staff can potentially save lives of blood cancer patients who are struggling to find a compatible match.