Mandi Schwartz was born in Yorkton, Saskatchewan on February 3, 1998 and was the sister of St. Louis blues forward and Stanley Cup Champion Jaden Schwartz. She excelled at hockey and eventually went on to play as a member of the Yale Bulldogs. While playing with the Bulldogs, Mandi was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia and was told that her best hope for finding a cure was a stem cell transplant. Unfortunately, a stem cell donor was never found, and she passed away on April 3, 2011 at the age of 23.
In her memory, The Run for Mandi is an annual event in Saskatoon which helps raise awareness for the stem cell registry. Hockey Gives Blood is honoured to play a small part in this year’s event which takes place on August 24th at Al Anderson’s Source for Sports between 10am and 2pm. Join Hockey Gives Blood and become a registered stem cell donor. Not everyone who registers will be matched to a patient and asked to donate but each registrant provides hope for those waiting. People 17-35 can #getswabbed and register at the event or sign up online at blood.ca/stem-cells.