The UNM Athletics department is hosting a three-part Marrow Registration Event to raise much needed awareness for Be The Match. UNM student-athletes and staff are taking action to raise awareness about the need for bone marrow donors in support of local blood cancer patients, which includes many members of the Lobo athletics family.
“My son Avery was diagnosed with lymphoblastic leukemia at the age of two,” said Lobo Men’s Basketball associate head coach Chris Harriman. “He has battled cancer successfully for the last six years and undergone two bone marrow transplants. I’m asking for your help to please register at our events this weekend. We’ll be having several different locations at the Student Union (Building), the football tailgate and also at The Howl.”
Attendees can take the first step to save a life by joining the Be The Match Registry using a simple cheek swab on October 16 and 17. It is free to join the Marrow Registry and approximately 1 in 540 go on to donate.
The times and locations for the three Registry events are as follows:
Friday, 10/16: UNM Student Union Building – 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Friday, 10/16: Lobo Howl – 6-8 p.m.
Saturday, 10/17: The Howl Zone (prior to football game vs. Hawai’i) – 3-4:30 p.m.
Just this season, two football players from Villanova University have gone on to donate their marrow. In 2014, the University of Alabama set a record for hosting the largest ever university marrow drive. UNM plans to contend for such exciting results by adding many new members to the Registry in hopes of some students being called on to save a life.
Patients are most likely to match someone of their own race or ethnicity, and doctors request donors in the 18-44 age group more than 90 percent of the time. More young people of diverse racial and ethnic heritage are needed now to help patients searching for a match.
“It doesn’t matter your background, we just need your help,” Harriman said. “You could be the match that helps save a kid’s life.”
Fans who are interested in joining but can’t attend any of the events can still register online at: http://join.marrow.org/unm. You will be mailed a cheek swab kit to complete and return.
About Be The Match
For people with life-threatening blood cancers—like leukemia and lymphoma—or other diseases, a cure exists. Be The Match connects patients with their donor match for a life-saving marrow or umbilical cord blood transplant.
Be The Match is operated by the National Marrow Donor Program® (NMDP), a nonprofit organization that matches patients with donors, educates health care professionals and conducts research so more lives can be saved. To learn more about the cure, visit BeTheMatch.org or call 1 (800) MARROW-2.