Sylvia Okonofua has been passionate about the cause of strengthening the ethnic diversity of stem cell donors for many years.
In 2016, as a first-year undergraduate student at the University of Regina, she founded the campus’s chapter of the Stem Cell Club, a non-profit that recruits stem cell donors – especially those from diverse backgrounds. After graduating, she began a campaign called Black Donors Save Lives, launching it as a national non-profit in 2023.
So when Okonofua sought the next step towards realizing her twin ambitions – becoming a public health physician and expanding her non-profit – the logical choice was to enrol in the Master of Public Health (MPH) in Black health program at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health.
“Before starting the program, I knew I wanted to work in health equity,” says Okonofua, who volunteers as a mentor with Dalla Lana’s Outreach and Access Program. “After my first semester, I’m confident in my path now in becoming a physician who focuses on research and advocacy for marginalized populations.”
According to Canadian Blood Services, Black patients in need of stem cells have only a 3.7 per cent chance of finding a match. As executive director of Black Donors Save Lives, Okonofua is determined to raise that figure by educating potential donors and dispelling myths – such as, for example, that stem cells can only be donated from the spine (most donors opt for blood stem cell donation).
Her work also includes running stem cell drives, in which communities are provided with swab kits to encourage more donor registrations.
Okonofua says the MPH in Black health program has helped fine-tune her drive to challenge traditional Western approaches to public health and has also “sparked an interest in engaging more deeply with policymaking.”
“To be a good policymaker, you need a combination of field work… and you need to do your research,” says Okonofua, who led a campaign in February to recruit stem cell donors across Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta during Black History Month.
She credits the MPH in Black health program with helping expand her horizons in the policy knowledge she needs to complement her twin passions of research and advocacy.
“This program has really equipped me with the tools to not only identify systemic barriers but actively work towards dismantling them.”