NotJustYou brings its Cellular stem cell drive to Vancouver for the first time

On Friday, March 6, NotJustYou brought Cellular to Slate in Vancouver. From 6 to 9 PM, guests networked over hors d’oeuvres while Canadian Blood Services’ registry team ran a stem cell drive on site.

NotJustYou describes Cellular as “a travelling stem cell registry drive and community activation designed to increase diverse donor representation in Canada.” Vancouver is the fourth city to host it, and the first in British Columbia.

Four cities in four years

• Edmonton, March 3, 2023: the first Cellular, at Amaleena Lounge, welcomed more than 100 guests and was NotJustYou’s first in-person event after a 38-month pause
• Toronto, March 8, 2024: more than 75 guests at Junto Studio, for NotJustYou’s first event outside Edmonton
• Calgary, March 7, 2025: 28 people joined the stem cell registry that night
• Vancouver, March 6, 2026: the first Cellular in British Columbia

Each stop has paired a Canadian Blood Services registry table with a keynote and a night of networking. The city changes every year, and the purpose stays the same.

Why a registry drive belongs at a networking night

A stem cell transplant can cure some people living with sickle cell. Canadian Blood Services notes that transplants need a close genetic match, which can be hard to find, and that patients often look for donors with a similar ethnic background. The registry needs a larger, more diverse donor base so that every patient has a chance at a match.

Cellular brings the registry into a room people already want to be in. NotJustYou calls it “a third space where culture, connection, and health equity meet,” and the format makes joining the registry part of the evening. It is NotJustYou’s 2026 theme, “From Taboo to Tradition,” in action: a health conversation woven into a night of culture and connection.

The approach has results to show. At Cellular Calgary in 2025, NotJustYou announced that someone who joined the registry at a Cellular event had been matched with a patient.

Inside the night at Slate

Adeyemi hosted the evening as MC, with music from DJ Chip$. NotJustYou also teamed up with The Fun HQ card game for the night.

The keynote came from Reni Odetoyinbo, known as Reni the Resource, who also gave the keynote when Cellular went to Toronto in 2024. Her return linked Cellular’s first stop outside Alberta with its first in British Columbia.

Canadian Blood Services’ registry team was on hand to walk guests through joining. Every new registrant adds to the pool that transplant centres search when a patient needs a donor.

If you missed it, you can still join

Canadian Blood Services’ Stem Cell Registry is looking for people aged 17 to 35 who are in good health and willing to donate to any patient in need. Joining starts with a short health questionnaire online. A free swab kit then arrives by mail: swab the inside of your cheeks and send it back, with postage included.

After you swab, a lab analyzes the small set of genes that determine your tissue type, and your results are added to the registry. Transplant centres searching for a donor see a registrant number, not your name. If you match a patient, Canadian Blood Services contacts you to confirm you are still willing, then arranges a health questionnaire and further testing.

In Quebec, the registry is run by Héma-Québec. Once you are on the registry, keep your contact details up to date, because registrants can be called on to donate up to age 60.

If you are outside the age range, you can still help by giving blood or by encouraging a friend who qualifies to register. Find more ways to give on our blood and stem cell donation page, and watch our events page for what NotJustYou does next.