CUIN Ph.D. Student Gives Back Through Bone Marrow Donation - University of Houston
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CUIN Ph.D. Student Gives Back Through Bone Marrow Donation

Dawn Whitten with her spouse, Kenith, and son, Jackson, at the Vancouver Marathon on May 3, 2015
Dawn Whitten with her spouse, Kenith, and son, Jackson, at the Vancouver Marathon on May 3, 2015.

Dawn Whitten, a Ph.D. student in Curriculum and Instruction (CUIN) - Teaching and Teacher Education, recently donated bone marrow for an adult female cancer patient.  Whitten’s bone marrow donation was made at the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center.  Prior to donating the marrow, Whitten had been on the Be the Match registry for 15 years.  “I see this donation as a chance to help someone,” she said.  “The woman that received the donation is someone's daughter and could be someone's mother.”

Whitten is passionate about this cause because her spouse, Kenith Whitten, is a lymphoma survivor and she wanted to be a good role model for their toddler son, Jackson, who is two years old.  Whitten additionally has two female friends from high school whose young children have had bone marrow transplants whose donors were identified by Be the Match.  “This makes my ability to give back even more special,” she said.  “I would love to also use this opportunity to raise awareness about Be the Match and encourage others to join the registry.”

For people fighting cancer, a bone marrow transplant is generally the last resort.  Whitten feels like everyone deserves a chance at life.  “In the end I think we should all work toward the things in life that are bigger than ourselves and do what we can to help man kind and the world to be a better place,” she said.

In addition, to being a donor, Whitten has raised funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society by running marathons in Seattle and Vancouver.  She is currently training and fund-raising for a race in New Orleans. 

Prior to being selected for the Ph.D. program in the CUIN department at the University of Houston, Whitten completed two master’s degrees at Texas A&M and University of Texas at Arlington.

 “Our new Ph.D. program in the College of Education has urban education/ social activism as its focus,” said CUIN professor and Whitten’s advisor, Cheryl Craig.  “Dawn Whitten’s incredible generosity shows that social action can take many forms.  She stands as a shining example of human lives being intertwined and how we can all contribute to one another—those known and unknown.” 

If you would like to learn more or participate in “Be the Match,” you can visit the website bethematch.org.