Why Your Next Piece of Gum Could Save a Life

We’ve all chewed gum for fresh breath, stress relief, or just because we were bored—but now, popping a piece could literally help save a life. Meet Hero Gum, the first-ever gum that doubles as a blood donor registration kit.

Yep, gum just went from “minty fresh” to medical marvel.

Hero Gum Photo From: Gift of Life

The brainchild of a collab between Doublemint, Gift of Life Marrow Registry, and Labcorp, Hero Gum is designed to make joining the donor registry so easy you could do it in line at the coffee shop. Here’s the chew-down: you unwrap, chew for five minutes, and boom—your gum collects viable Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) samples. That’s the fancy science behind matching stem cell and marrow donors to patients who need them.

Why does this matter? Because the numbers are sobering:

• Every three minutes, someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with blood cancer.

• Around 20,000 Americans need a stem cell or marrow transplant every year.

• Only 30% of patients find a match in their own families—the other 70% are hoping a stranger steps up.

That’s where Hero Gum steps in—making it easier (and way less intimidating) for younger and more diverse communities to get involved. “By turning something as familiar as chewing gum into a potential life-saving act, we’re introducing a fresh, engaging way to connect with younger communities and expand the diversity of our donor base,” says Marti Freund, COO at Gift of Life Marrow Registry.

The kits are safe, non-invasive, and ridiculously simple to use. Think of it as swapping your daily mint for a chance to help save someone’s life.

So next time you grab gum, why not grab the kind that could make you a hero? Hero Gum is available now at giftoflife.org/herogum. Chew. Spit. Save a life.