An Angelic recruiter
The philanthropic aspirations of the 16-year-old, a junior at Crossroads School in Santa Monica, Calif., inspired him to launch, “Be An Angel + Save A Life” — a drive to sign up potential donors to the National Marrow Donor Program registry and raise funds to underwrite genetic testing costs. During the drive, held on Nov. 17 at Sachse’s school, nearly 500 eligible adults and students enrolled in the registry.
photo: COURTESY OF SACHSE FAMILYFrom left, Jake Sachse, with his mother, Julie, his sister, Erin, and his father, Ed.
In 2002, when Jake was 11 years old, his father, Ed, was diagnosed with non- Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Throughout his long battle, the elder Sachse underwent two stem cell transplants at City of Hope.
Jake and his then 9-year-old sister, Erin, “remained strong throughout Ed’s treatment,” their mother, Julie said. “By getting involved in helping others, it empowered my children to understand this disease and truly made a difference.” Part of their healing included holding two blood drives.
After receiving a transplant from an anonymous marrow donor, whom Ed refers to as “an angel,” his cancer went into remission. The angelic reference struck a chord in Jake, who then came up with the recruitment idea.
Bolstered by the success of their prior blood drives, Jake enlisted friends, family, companies and organizations to ensure the event’s success. In addition to recruiting donors, the event also raised funds for the Phase One Foundation, which recently awarded a $500,000 grant to City of Hope to support cancer research. Ed serves as co-chair of the Phase One Foundation, an organization with a mission of supporting phase I clinical trial research and treatment programs for cancer patients.
With his first drive under his belt, Jake continues to promote stem cell donation. “Just like the anonymous angel who donated stem cells to save my dad’s life, everyone can participate and possibly save a life and give the gift of hope,” he said.
For more information on how to become one of Jake’s angels, or to donate funds, go to http://www.beanangelsavealife.org