The Xi Delta chapter of Chi Phi Fraternity has turned a simple act—a cheek swab—into a lifesaving tradition.
In 2024, the fraternity was notified that a 65-year-old man battling myelodysplastic syndrome had been matched with a donor from one of its bone marrow drives held in partnership with the Gift of Life Marrow Registry. In May 2025, a 66-year-old man with leukemia was matched in similar fashion. Six months later, another success followed: a 72-year-old leukemia patient whose match also traced back to one of the chapter’s drives.
Together, these outcomes demonstrate how a simple campus initiative has evolved into a consistent source of hope for people in need.
Since forming its partnership with Gift of Life in 2022, Chi Phi has hosted four bone marrow drives, collected hundreds of swabs and identified 14 donor matches—an above-average success rate, according to Gift of Life representatives.
For Will Emerson, chapter president and an aerospace engineering junior, the effort reflects Chi Phi’s values. “Our core values are truth, honor and personal integrity, and we strive to uphold those in everything we do,” Emerson said. “I think that’s a good representation of who we are on campus.”
The most recent drive, Feb. 4–6, drew 128 participants—most of them students—supporting Gift of Life and uniting the community in the fight against life-threatening illnesses.
According to Alex Davis, philanthropy chair and an aviation management with flight junior, the process is simple.
“Participants fill out a waiver, swab the inside of their cheek and place the swab back in the container—it’s super simple,” Davis said. “From there, participants are entered into an international registry. If someone needs a transplant and you’re a match, Gift of Life will contact you. Everything is voluntary, and they cover all expenses—they’ll even pay for your travel to the donation facility.”
Once a match is made, both the donor and recipient remain anonymous and can only communicate through Gift of Life. The fraternity doesn’t know which of its drives produced a match unless the donor chooses to share it.
Potentially lifesaving matches may take months or even years to occur, but every swab counts—those that don’t lead to matches still advance critical medical research and strengthen the initiative’s impact.
David McMahan, vice president for student affairs, said the fraternity’s work reflects the broader values of Greek Life at Florida Tech.
“Greek life at Florida Tech is based on four pillars: scholarship, leadership, friendship and service,” McMahan said. “As part of our student community, which provided more than 22,836 hours of service throughout Brevard County, our fraternities and sororities do amazing work with their philanthropy efforts, and learning of the specific impacts is especially enheartening.”
For Chi Phi, each match represents more than a statistic.
“We like to announce new matches during our chapter meetings,” Emerson said. “It’s a big morale booster for everyone. A lot of times, with philanthropy, you raise money for an organization and never really see the impact. But this is different—it’s something real and tangible. Every time we get a match, we can say, ‘We helped make that happen,’ and hopefully someone’s life is better because of it.”
Most donors in the chapter’s drives have been Florida Tech students, though faculty and local community members have also taken part. Davis said it’s likely many of the matches came from students, who fall within the ideal age range for donation.
“We collect as many swabs as possible, but the chance of any one person being a match is low,” Davis said. “It’s like casting a wide net—the more people who join the registry, the better the odds that someone will match with a patient in need.”
“You stay in the registry until age 61, but the chances of becoming a match decrease over time,” Emerson added. “It’s very unlikely that someone from our drive will match 20 years from now. Most donors are between 20 and 30 years old.”
The chapter plans to continue partnering with Gift of Life and is exploring new ways to grow the initiative, including collaborating with other campus groups and, eventually, hosting larger drives that involve the greater Melbourne community.
“Partnering with another organization or campus group could help us cast a wider net and reach more people, which I think could do a lot of good,” Emerson said. “We’d like to reach more people by holding drives during events that bring visitors to campus or even take it off campus to engage the larger community. Since Florida Tech is a small school, the number of potential donors is limited by our size. So, reaching beyond the university might be the best way to grow and continue this work.”
For the brothers of Chi Phi, what began as a simple act of service has evolved into a mission that embodies the fraternity’s ideals.
“Gift of Life is incredible,” Emerson said. “For us, there’s an overwhelming sense of pride that comes with this work. In the past, some of our philanthropy might have felt a little superficial—you don’t always see the impact. But this time, we do. We know exactly what we’re accomplishing, and we’re all incredibly proud of it.”
