Ezra Marfo Cancer Foundation

What Ezra Marfo Cancer Foundation does

The Ezra Marfo Cancer Foundation is a Canadian nonprofit charity founded after its namesake, Ezra Marfo, was hospitalized for 475 days while awaiting a stem cell match. The foundation's core mission is to increase the volume and ethnic diversity of registered stem cell donors in Canada, with a particular focus on Black, African, and African-Caribbean communities who are underrepresented in the national registry. Its principal offering is the "Swab4Ezra" cheek-swab donor registration program, which routes eligible donors aged 17-35 to Canadian Blood Services via blood.ca/swab4ezra; the swab process is surgery-free and reportedly takes under two minutes.

Operationally, the foundation runs community-led stem cell drives, health fairs, and networking events across Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge, and Winnipeg, delivered through partnerships with Canadian Blood Services, Black Donors Save Lives, the Black Medical Students Association at the University of Alberta, the Somali Canadian Society of Calgary, the African Cancer Support Group, and the international Be the Match network. Beyond donor recruitment, it allocates 20% of incoming donations to direct financial support for parents whose children are receiving cancer treatment in Canada, with the remainder split between stem cell drives (70%) and overhead (10%). The organization employs 1-10 staff and is headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, with event venues documented in Calgary and Lethbridge. Marketing is community-driven and event-based, supplemented by a TikTok presence and the swab4ezra.com website.

Revenue is generated exclusively through charitable donations accepted via Interac e-Transfer ([email protected]) and PayPal, with tax receipts available on request. No revenue, grant, or sponsorship figures are publicly disclosed. There is no proprietary technology product; the foundation's role is fundamentally a community-trust intermediary and fundraising entity layered on top of Canadian Blood Services' national registry infrastructure.

Name

Ezra Marfo Cancer Foundation

Legal name

Ezra Marfo Cancer Foundation

Website

https://swab4ezra.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Ezra Marfo Cancer Foundation is a Canadian nonprofit that runs community-led stem cell donor registration drives and awareness events, primarily targeting Black, African, and African-Caribbean communities underrepresented in Canada's donor registry.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cancer Non-Profit Services

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

akta.pro primary industry

Blood, Organ & Tissue Donation Organizations (BPAGACAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Disease-Specific Research & Support (e.g., Cancer, Diabetes, ALS) (BPAGACAA)

Keywords

• Stem cell registration
• Cancer awareness campaigns
• Blood donation drives
• Community health outreach
• Nonprofit family support

Headquarters

HQ city

Edmonton

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Accepts charitable donations through Interac e-Transfer to [email protected] and PayPal. Donation allocation model: 70% of every dollar goes directly to stem cell drives, 20% to directly support parents whose kids are receiving cancer treatment in Canada, 10% to overhead.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Ezra Marfo Cancer Foundation is a Canadian nonprofit that runs the Swab4Ezra cheek-swab stem cell donor registration program in partnership with Canadian Blood Services, enabling individuals aged 17-35 to register as potential stem cell donors for blood cancer and blood disorder patients. The foundation complements registration with community-led awareness campaigns, networking events, and direct financial and emotional support services for families whose children are receiving cancer treatment in Canada. A central focus is increasing the diversity of the stem cell donor registry, particularly within Black, African, and Caribbean communities in Canada.

Product overview

The Ezra Marfo Cancer Foundation operates a focused portfolio centered on stem cell donor registration drives and blood cancer awareness. The primary offering is the Swab4Ezra cheek-swab registration program, which allows Canadians aged 17-35 to register as potential stem cell donors through Canadian Blood Services. The foundation complements this with community awareness campaigns, networking events, and direct family support services for parents of children undergoing cancer treatment in Canada. The organization prioritizes increasing donor diversity, particularly within African, Caribbean, and Black communities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Swab4Ezra Stem Cell Donor Registration Program Cheek-swab based stem cell donor registration program that allows individuals aged 17-35 to register as potential stem cell donors through Canadian Blood Services, aimed at helping blood cancer and blood disorder patients find matches.
• Stem Cell and Blood Cancer Awareness Campaigns

Quantifiable outcome

• Surgery-free cheek swab registration process taking less than 2 minutes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Black Donors Save LivescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 April 2023Collaborative partner focused on increasing stem cell donor registration within Black communities. Joined forces for the BMSA Health Fair on April 30, 2023.
• Black Medical Students Association (BMSA) - University of AlbertacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 April 2023Partnership with University of Alberta's Black Medical Students' Association for health fairs and community outreach. BMSA hosts health fairs featuring booths providing health and wellness information for African, Caribbean and Black communities.
• Somali Canadian Society of CalgaryminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 April 2023Partner for community networking events targeting African-Caribbean youth in Calgary. Provided venue for the April 9, 2023 networking night.
• ITW BuilderminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 9 April 2023Event supporter for African-Caribbean youth networking events. Provided support for the Calgary networking event on April 9, 2023.
• African Cancer Support GroupminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 April 2023Supporting partner for community cancer awareness events. Provided support for the Calgary networking event on April 9, 2023.
• Be the MatchcoreTechnology or Integration · 27 August 2022International stem cell donor network organization for matching donors with patients. Referenced in stem cell drive events and gallery images showing collaboration.
• Canadian Blood ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for stem cell donor drives and blood donation awareness campaigns. Canadian Blood Services provides the infrastructure for stem cell donor registration and manages the national stem cell registry. The foundation collaborates with them for community events.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Be The Match (NMDP): U.S.-based international stem-cell donor registry with which the foundation has a documented core partnership. Operates the global matching infrastructure that any national swab drive ultimately feeds into for cross-border transplants.
• DKMS: International bone-marrow/stem-cell donor registry that runs donor drives worldwide. Closest international direct competitor/parallel in the community-driven stem-cell recruitment model.
• Canadian Blood Services: Canada's national blood and stem-cell operator that runs the actual donor registry the foundation drives registrations into. Both are stem-cell-recruitment focused for Canadian patients, with the foundation acting as a community-acquisition layer on top of CBS infrastructure.
• Gift of Life Marrow Registry: U.S.-based stem-cell and marrow donor registry recruiting donors through community swab events. Highly comparable model of converting community partnerships into registered donors.
• Black Donors Save Lives: A peer organization explicitly focused on increasing Black stem-cell donor registrations. Identical target demographic and mission as the foundation's Swab4Ezra program; co-hosted the April 2023 BMSA Health Fair.

Broad incumbents

• Canadian Cancer Society: Canada's largest cancer charity with broad research, support, and advocacy mandates. A broad incumbent whose portfolio overlaps the foundation's awareness and patient-support functions at the cancer-overall level.
• Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada: Major Canadian blood-cancer nonprofit funding research and patient support. Overlaps with the foundation's cancer-awareness and family-support mandate but does not specialize in stem-cell donor recruitment.

Regional players

• Anthony Nolan: U.K.-based stem-cell and bone-marrow charity operating its own registry, with comparable mission of community-driven donor recruitment and patient support. Comparable peer geographically outside Canada.
• Lifeblood (Australian Red Cross) Stem Cell Registry: Australian national stem-cell donor registry operated through Red Cross Lifeblood. Comparable model where a national operator runs the registry while civil-society partners drive registrations.

Emerging players

• Sickle Cell Awareness Group of Ontario (and Canadian Sickle Cell Society): Sickle-cell-focused Canadian nonprofits addressing one of the 80+ stem-cell-treatable diseases the foundation cites. Overlaps on disease-specific advocacy and Black/African-Caribbean community outreach in Canada.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SwabforEzra
• Xx.com/swab4ezra
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ezra-marfo-cancer-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Ezra Marfo Cancer Foundation