UCLA Football to Host Bone Marrow Donor Registry Drive April 19
April 11, 2019 | Football
LOS ANGELES -- In conjunction with Be The Match and the Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation, UCLA football will host a bone marrow donor registry drive on Friday, April 19 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. in Bruin Plaza. There will also be an opportunity to register for the National Marrow Donor Program at the annual football Spring Game presented by US Wellness Meats at Drake Stadium the following day.
Operated by the National Marrow Donor Program, Be The Match was started in 1986 to bring to light the fight against life-threatening blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma and what can be done to treat those diseases. Bone marrow and cord blood transplants are, at times, the only hope for cure and 70 percentย of patients do not have fully-matched donors within their families. While 20 million volunteers have joined the registry, there are still patients who cannot find matches.
People between the ages of 18 and 44 are selected as donors by physicians 86 percent of the time, making the Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation's Get in the Game program so important. Talley, a former head football coach at Villanova, has partnered with over 125 college football programs since his foundation's inception in November of 2010. Over 104,000 donors have been found and 503 transplants performed thanks to the influence of these programs at their respective schools.
Head coach Chip Kelly's UCLA football team is the latest to join Get in the Game. As part of Friday's event, student-athletes will educate potential donors about the cause and assist in a simple online registration process, which takes 5-10 minutes. Within 3-7 business days, a cheek swab kit will be sent to the registrant and the process deemed complete upon submission of the DNA test. Due to the complexity of donor matching, it could take weeks, months or years before the right patient is found.
Pizza, candy and The Den t-shirts will be handed out to participants, while other football-related prizes and experiences will be distributed via raffle. Talley will speak in the 12 p.m. hour.
On Saturday, Be The Match representatives will be stationed near the main entrance to Drake Stadium to aid those looking for more information or interested in registering. The Spring Game, held on Marshall Field at Drake Stadium, will begin at 11 a.m. Admission to the game is free with a suggested donation of two non-perishable food items per person toward the UCLA Community Programs Office Food Closet.