Staten Island, NY -- On Wednesday, April 15, the Wagner College football program supported the National Bone Marrow Donor Program's "Be The Match" initiative by hosting its annual Bone Marrow Registration Drive and 214 samples were collected, the most in the eight years that this event has been held on the Grymes Hill campus.
 
These samples will now be entered into the National Donor Bank to determine if a match can be found with a cancer patient seeking a bone marrow transplant.

Positioned in the Union Atrium, members of the Wagner Football program worked alongside representatives from the National Bone Marrow Donor Program to collect samples from the many generous volunteers.

"I'm proud of our coaches and team members who spearheaded our most successful drive to date and we hope to set a record next year as well," said Wagner first-year head football coach Jason Houghtaling.  "This is a tremendous cause and we're proud to have hosted our eighth drive."

A simple cheek swab was taken from each volunteer, a process that takes just seconds to complete. If a match is found, the volunteer will be further tested to see if he or she is, indeed, a match.

Wagner is one of more than 50 college football programs from across the nation that takes part in a Bone Marrow Registration Drive. The driving force behind college football supporting this worthy cause is veteran Villanova head football coach Andy Talley. A close friend of former Wagner head coach and current athletic director Walt Hameline, Talley is the founder of the Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation, which works in conjunction with the "Be The Match" program.

Through their joint initiative, "Get in the Game, Save a Life" (GITG), both organizations work in conjunction with the "Be the Match" initiative, college football teams nationwide to register potential marrow donors for the Be The Match Registry.
 
Since 2008, with the help of over 50 colleges and universities, GITG has added over 52,000 donors to the national registry and is credited with providing 271 potential donor-patient matches. From the 271 donors, 194 were selected as patient's perfect match and continued on to provide a marrow transplant and second chance at life.
 
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. People can contribute to the cure as a member of the Be The Match Registry®, financial contributor or volunteer. Be The Match provides patients and their families one-on-one support, education, and guidance before, during and after 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

Follow Wagner Athletics on Twitter (@WagnerAthletics) for all the latest news and updates on the athletic department and @Wagner_Football for all the latest news pertaining to Wagner Football and first-year head coach Jason Houghtaling (@HossWagner)