Brewery seeks potentially life-saving stem cell donors

Calgarys Village Brewery has a custom of naming its beers after the people who make up a community, with a lineup that includes a farmer, a blacksmith and a troubadour.

This weekend, Village Brewerys Jim Button is looking for another addition to the family: a donor.

On Saturday, June 7, Village is holding a Swab-a-Thon, an event to find a potential stem cell donor for Al Carpenter, a longtime friend of Buttons who was recently diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia.

The target demographic for the donor drive is men between 18 and 35, who are considered strong enough to donate their stem cells if they prove to be a match to Carpenter.

Since Ive got a brewery, Ive got a pretty good idea how we could draw them in, said Button, who co-founded Village in 2011.

In exchange for offering a cell sample via a quick, painless cheek swab, participants will receive a beer tasting and tour of the brewery.

Of course, thats in addition to potentially saving Carpenters life and adding their name to an international network of stem cell donor registries.

Canadian Blood Services, which runs the registry in this country, estimates more than 70 per cent of people who require a stem cell transplant will need a donor from outside their family.

To Carpenter, raising awareness about stem cell donation and the Canadian OneMatch registry transcends his own search for a donor.

Thats how the registry is going to grow. Im well aware the odds that perfect match for me are very, very minimal, Carpenter said from Ottawa, where he lives.

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Brewery seeks potentially life-saving stem cell donors