LIVEbeyond's Mission: To build an international organization to help communities get access to life saving bone marrow and cord blood. LIVEbeyond is a non-profit organization that educates, motivates and recruites bone marrow and cord blood donors.
LIVEbeyond's Mantra: "Educate, Motivate and Recruit"
Educate
LIVEbeyond educates people about how they can—and why they should—join the Be The Match bone marrow registry. Many are surprised to learn that registering is completely pain free, and that donating rarely involves surgery.
Motivate
LIVEbeyond motivates potential bone marrow donors by sharing the story of Manasvi Koul who, at age 13, needed a life-saving bone marrow transplant when she relapsed twice with Hodgkin's Lymphoma within a couple of months. Manasvi's story is told in a documentary that she produced using her wish from the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Recruit
LIVEbeyond recruits potential bone marrow donors by conducting drives along with Be The Match/National Marrow Donor Program in various cities across North America and Canada. Be The Match and LIVEbeyond encourage all who fit the criteria to join but focus on minority communities as they are underrepresented.
What is LIVEbeyond? LIVEbeyond was started by Manasvi Koul, a cancer survivor, on her 16th birthday. When Manasvi relapsed twice and survived progressive Hodgkin's Lymphoma, she knew exactly what a bone marow match can do and made it her life's mission to fulfill this need that many have. She had to undergo an autologous stem cell transplant because an unrelated bone marrow donor could not be found due to her genetic background.
Why LIVEbeyond? When months of searching for a suitable transplant donor proved unsuccessful and Manasvi could no longer survive without treatment, a less safe and effective plan was followed, and Manasvi received a transplant of her own stem cells. The autologous transplant (which is not an option for all patients), combined with multiple rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, not to mention numerous surgeries, left Manasvi frail and bald, but motivated and determined to help patients find a bone marrow match. Once she felt better, Manasvi spent a year researching and educating herself on the biology of transplants, DNA, and HLA typing, and then came the hard part—convincing her parents to formally launch her website to spread awareness of her goals. She also contacted the Be The Match registry and started volunteering at bone marrow recruitment drives. It didn’t take her long to recognize that many people declined the invitation to join the registry simply because they did not understand the process. She understood that education was the key. Once educated—and then motivated—recruitment would become a much easier task. Manasvi realized that she could not reach people with her website alone, so she used her wish from the Make-A-Wish Foundation to produce a documentary to create awareness about bone marrow donation. The documentary premiered in June, 2010, and the results have matched Manasvi’s expectation of increased recruitment rates.
Through LIVEbeyond, Manasvi bravely “lives beyond” herself and her needs.
Who are We? LIVEbeyond is a non-profit organization that educates, motivates and recruites bone marrow and cord blood donors.
Click here to read Manasvi's Message