Moravian Football to Host 9th Annual Be The Match Bone Marrow Donor Registration Drive on April 18

Moravian Football will host its 2018 Be The Match Bone Marrow Donor Registration Drive on April 18.

Posted: Apr 13, 2018

BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College football team is set to host the program's 9th Annual Be The Match Bone Marrow Donor Registration Drive on Tuesday, April 18 from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. in Johnston Hall.

The Moravian football squad has joined former Villanova University Head Football Coach Andy Talley and Be The Match^® for the ninth consecutive spring to help save lives by recruiting potential marrow donors. The Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation has had the support of 81 football programs around the country and added over 84,000 donors and accounted for 489 transplants. https://www.talleybonemarrow.org/

Every three minutes someone is diagnosed with a life-threatening blood cancer. More than 14,000 patients don't have a matching marrow donor within their family. They depend on Be The Match to help find someone to give them hope for a cure. https://bethematch.org/

The Get in the Game. Save A Life. Program raises awareness of this need and invites students, faculty, staff and the community to join the Be The Match Registry. To sign up as a committed registry member, people need to meet age and health guidelines and be willing to donate to any patient in need. Registration involves completing a health history form and giving a swab of cheek cells. Those of diverse racial or ethnic heritage are especially needed. Donors and patients who share the same ancestry are mostly likely to match.

"We are extremely proud of our partnership with Coach Talley and are excited to continue our support again this year,' noted Head Football Coach Jeff Pukszyn. "We have registered over 1,400 people and we're expecting another large turnout. The Get in the Game, Save a Life program is a great opportunity to positively affect people's lives and make an impact that reaches far beyond the football field."

Since starting the drive in 2010, Moravian has brought 1,530 people into the registration process with 1,428 becoming part of the full registry program. The Greyhounds have had 77 potential matches out of that group with nine going through with the full donation process. The national average is 1 in 430 people being a donor while Moravian's average is at 1 in 159.

For more information, contact assistant football coach Chris Leavenworth at 610-625-7955 or by email at leavenworthc@moravian.edu.