Chelsea Residents Participated in Gift of Life Donor Dash in Philadelphia

On April 2, Maria Yilma of Chelsea and several other Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (Geisinger Commonwealth) master of biomedical sciences students participated in the 22nd annual Gift of Life Donor Dash in Philadelphia.

Gift of Life is a nonprofit organ procurement organization (OPO) that coordinates the recovery and distribution of organs used in transplants throughout eastern Pennsylvania. More than 12,000 people took part in either the 5k or 10k race benefiting the 5,400 individuals in the eastern Pennsylvania region waiting for an organ transplant.

Franklin Ochieng, of Philadelphia, chair of the student health and wellness group, created a Geisinger Commonwealth team to raise both awareness and donations for Gift of Life. Members of the team in addition to Ochieng included Geisinger Commonwealth students Johnny Chen, Sierra McCloud, Michael Scharf, Maria Yilma, Janette Pham and Fatimah Washington, as well as employees of the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute/Hepatitis B Foundation, and medical professionals from local Philadelphia hospitals.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (Geisinger Commonwealth) is the newest member of the Geisinger Health System family. Geisinger Commonwealth offers a community-based model of medical education with campuses in Doylestown, Scranton, Sayre, Wilkes-Barre and Williamsport. Geisinger Commonwealth offers Doctor of Medicine (MD) and Master of Biomedical Sciences (MBS) degrees. The college’s innovative curriculum, focused on caring for people in the context of their lives and their community, attracts the next generation of physicians and scientists from within its 17-county region in northeastern and north central Pennsylvania, as well as from across the state and the nation. Geisinger Commonwealth is committed to non-discrimination in all employment and educational opportunities. Visit www.geisinger.edu/gcsom.

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