And the OpenIDEO Bone Marrow Challenge Winners Are…

100k CheeksCheck out the 10 Winning Concepts below, and stay tuned for updates on how 100k Cheeks is implementing them in the coming weeks.

Question: How might we increase the number of registered bone marrow donors to save more lives?

 

Winning concepts:

–  University-Based Open Innovation Awareness Websites built on a DIY Kit: A website with DIY resources, open source challenge platform, materials, promo stuff, etc.

BeTheInternationalMatch.org: Convincing people to register as a donor is one thing, but then finding the right place near you is the next. This concept is to globally centralize location data for donor centers, national registries, donor drives and other information on a central site.

Cricket Star ads to encourage South Asian donors: South Asians have a particularly difficult time finding a match with low numbers of registered donors. But they are crazy about cricket in South Asia (India, Pakistan and Srilanka.) Cricket star based ads sell here.

Department of Motor Vehicles AND Marrow: What if, when you are filling out your car registration or driver’s license application(which often includes opt-in or mandated choice questions for organ donor & voter registration), you are also asked whether you want to do a cheek swab on the spot to register as a bone marrow donor?

Matchpoint: A mobile application to help groups organize bone marrow registry drives.

Start with the kids! Start an education campaign in schools to discuss bone marrow donations. With the campaign, school can be an environment for them to clear their doubts and have an open discussion around both cancer and the donation process.

Swab parties (on the basis of Tupperware parties): People meet to have Tupperware parties at their homes, where the host supplies food and drinks and presents the new Tupperware products. Why shouldn’t we apply this principle to a good cause like having a “Swab party”?

Swab, Spit & Share: Dentists could register their patients to become bone marrow donors during appointments.

Tap into the Influence of Spiritual Leaders: Provide the right resources to spiritual leaders and faith organizations who often have great influence over their congregation, so they can can effectively partner with bone marrow agencies.

This Isn’t Your Mama’s Bone Marrow Donation Process: The bone marrow donation process isn’t the same as it used to be. The vastly superior technology has been updated, as has the procedure…but we’ve left the brand in past, where images of large hollow needles, long recoveries, and intense pain circulate. Let’s start fresh!