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Brown Football Helps Give The Gift of Life With 8th Annual “Be The Match” Bone Marrow Donor Testing Drive
Providence, Rhode Island – Brown head coach Phil Estes and the Bears' Football team are once again joining collegiate football teams throughout the country in
an effort to recruit new bone marrow volunteers to the "Be The Match" registry. The Bears will sponsor their Eighth Annual Bone Marrow Donor Testing Drive on Tuesday, April 11, 2017, at Sayles Hall, located on the main campus, from 10 am to 4 pm. The drive is open to the public and sponsored by Brown Football and the Brown Warren Alpert Medical School.
The "Be The Match" Bone Marrow Testing Drive has become a major component of the Brown Football program over the last seven years, with 1,551 students, faculty, staff and community members signing up and registering as potential donors. To date, 102 people from the Brown football drives have been called as potential donors.
Under the direction of Estes, Brown football became a leader in Rhode Island for providing support to the "Be the Match" Registry. Estes and the entire Brown football team and coaching staff will be out in force to exceed its efforts over the last seven years.
The Bears' football team has been creating awareness for the bone marrow donor drive on the Brown campus since returning from semester break, encouraging University faculty, staff, students and the local community to be a part of the national movement and join the "Be The Match" registry.
In addition to Brown University, more than 78 college football teams are participating in the program. Over 71,000 donors have been added and 363 donations have come from the "Get In The Game" drive.
All are welcome to sign up for this critical drive that is part of the "Get in the Game. Save a Life." campaign for the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP). Thousands of patients with leukemia and other life-threatening diseases depend on the "Be The Match" registry to find a match.
Registration is simple, and involves completing a health history form and giving a swab of cheek cells. A person must be between the ages of 18 and 60, meet the health guidelines and be willing to donate to any patient in need. Donors with diverse racial or ethnic backgrounds are especially critical. Individuals will become a member of the National Marrow Donor Program "Be The Match" registry. If you match, most donations are done through an automated blood donation – no surgery needed.
The "Be The Match" registry has been fostered by former Villanova head coach Andy Talley, who has dedicated more than 19 years to raising awareness about the need for marrow donors. He has recruited thousands of members to the registry by encouraging his football team and their friends to join. Talley's aim is to increase the likelihood that all patients receive the life-saving transplants they need.
