May 21, 2019
Santa Monica, CA
The Santa Monica College Football team & Athletic department worked with "Get in the Game. Save a Life" and the Be The Match Registry on the SMC Quad on campus Wednesday May 8th. During the event the 95 potential donors signed up to join the registry.
For the thousands of people diagnosed every year with life-threatening blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma, a cure exists. Get in the Game. Save a Life. is a recruitment program that utilizes the power of collegiate athletics to recruit marrow donors for the Be The Match Registry. Be The Match and The Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation partner with nearly 100 college and university football teams to help save lives through the program.
The SMC Football team participated in a training event the week prior and nearly 40 members signed up to join the registry. Al Gomez from Be the Match said that the first time he held an event on campus through Be The Match Registry they only had 18 people sign up and the football team's excitement and energy helped make the day so successful.
Head football coach Kelly Ledwith met Coach Andy Talley at the AFCA Convention in January where Coach Talley was working to enlist college football programs to the "Get in the Game. Save a Life" (GITG) initiative. Over the past eight years, Coach Talley has enlisted over 90 other college football programs to participate GITG. Each program hosts their own on-campus donor drives each spring.
This fall the Corsair football team will continue to pass out flyers at every home game to encourage people to join the Be The Match Registry.
Every three minutes, someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer. Each year, tens of thousands of patients diagnosed with life threatening diseases, such as leukemia or lymphoma, find themselves in desperate need of a transplant. The chances of a patient finding a family related donor is only 30%, leaving most patients to rely on an anonymous donor from a registry.
To Save a Life Text: SMCsaves to 61474.
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