Buffs Host Sixth Annual Be The Match Registry Drive
April 18, 2018 | Football
Colorado’s registry signs 295 people up for the marrow donor program
BOULDER – For a sixth year running, the Colorado football program hosted its Be The Match registry drive in conjunction with the both the Colorado Marrow Donor Program and the national one, which the event is named after.
Tuesday, the Buffs were out for five hours inside Balch Fieldhouse on the west side of Folsom Field and signed 295 new members up for the marrow donor registry.
Every year, more than 10,000 people from all ethnic backgrounds are diagnosed with life-threatening blood diseases and those people hope for a marrow/stem cell donor who can make their transplant possible. And that is what this program is aimed at, increasing the pool of potential transplant donors for those facing these illnesses.
In its first five years of the program, started by head coach Mike MacIntyre, has added 818 people to the Be The Match registry and of those, five people have gone on to donate – that's five lives saved through the program. Two of them making the donations were football players, Derek McCartney and Danny Galloway.
"We are excited about what is going on today and it is fun to be able to truly give back and truly be able to have a part of saving someone's life," MacIntyre said. "That is really neat."
More recently, as in this spring, current student-athletes Chance Lytle and Lyle Tuiloma have matched with patients as well but have not gone on to or reached the point of donation.
MacIntyre's mission with Be The Match actually started nine years ago when he was at San Jose State. It has now become a model of success for other college programs to emulate.
It came about because MacIntyre joined the registry when he was a coach for the Dallas Cowboys between 2003-06 and he himself nearly went on to make a donation to a patient.
"I went all the way to the finals and didn't quite match, but I went through the process of matching with a person," MacIntyre said.
Then when he got the head coaching position for the San Jose State Spartans in 2010, MacIntyre called up a coaching colleague to inquire about starting a registry program of his own.
"Villanova was doing this with coach Andy Talley, so I called him and set it up so we can start it at San Jose State," MacIntyre explained. "San Jose has one of the most diverse campuses in America, so we did it for three years there and when we came here (to CU) we wanted to carry it on. We set it up here and we've seen great support, a lot of people have registered and we've had a lot of people match."
MacIntyre's involvement has helped expand the national program within the college football footprint.
"What Mike has done because of his leadership, some of these other schools are now getting involved," said Keith Stout, Senior Director, Major and Planned Gifts for Be The Match. Stout flew down from their headquarters in Minneapolis to attend CU's event on Tuesday.
"What he is doing is unique," Stout continued. "He has a different mindset as far as the whole student-athlete experience and the fact that he has been outspoken about if his players have to donate, they are going to donate. We are really grateful for that."
The most well-known story coming out of MacIntyre's program is that of McCartney, the Buffalo outside linebacker whose stem cell donation helped save a man's life. McCartney met his match last fall before Colorado's senior day game and his story throughout the process attracted national headlines.
Facts About The Be The Match Program
• More people of diverse heritage are urgently needed on the Be The Match Registry to save more lives. Patients are most likely to match and adult donor or cord blood unit of their own ethnic background. Currently, the chance of having a matched, available donor on Be The Match Registry® ranges from 66 to 90 percent, depending on ethnic background.
• Doctors request donors in the 18–44 age group more than 95 percent of the time.
• The cost of adding a new member to the Be The Match Registry is about $100. People can make financial contributions to the Be The Match Foundation® to cover the cost of adding more members to the registry. Everyone is asked to give what they can. Visit BeTheMatchFoundation.org to make a contribution.
• Myths about marrow donation can prevent people from signing up. Know the facts. The most common method of donating today does not require surgery. Most donors say they would donate again to save a life.
Tuesday, the Buffs were out for five hours inside Balch Fieldhouse on the west side of Folsom Field and signed 295 new members up for the marrow donor registry.
Every year, more than 10,000 people from all ethnic backgrounds are diagnosed with life-threatening blood diseases and those people hope for a marrow/stem cell donor who can make their transplant possible. And that is what this program is aimed at, increasing the pool of potential transplant donors for those facing these illnesses.
In its first five years of the program, started by head coach Mike MacIntyre, has added 818 people to the Be The Match registry and of those, five people have gone on to donate – that's five lives saved through the program. Two of them making the donations were football players, Derek McCartney and Danny Galloway.
"We are excited about what is going on today and it is fun to be able to truly give back and truly be able to have a part of saving someone's life," MacIntyre said. "That is really neat."
More recently, as in this spring, current student-athletes Chance Lytle and Lyle Tuiloma have matched with patients as well but have not gone on to or reached the point of donation.
MacIntyre's mission with Be The Match actually started nine years ago when he was at San Jose State. It has now become a model of success for other college programs to emulate.
It came about because MacIntyre joined the registry when he was a coach for the Dallas Cowboys between 2003-06 and he himself nearly went on to make a donation to a patient.
"I went all the way to the finals and didn't quite match, but I went through the process of matching with a person," MacIntyre said.
Then when he got the head coaching position for the San Jose State Spartans in 2010, MacIntyre called up a coaching colleague to inquire about starting a registry program of his own.
"Villanova was doing this with coach Andy Talley, so I called him and set it up so we can start it at San Jose State," MacIntyre explained. "San Jose has one of the most diverse campuses in America, so we did it for three years there and when we came here (to CU) we wanted to carry it on. We set it up here and we've seen great support, a lot of people have registered and we've had a lot of people match."
MacIntyre's involvement has helped expand the national program within the college football footprint.
"What Mike has done because of his leadership, some of these other schools are now getting involved," said Keith Stout, Senior Director, Major and Planned Gifts for Be The Match. Stout flew down from their headquarters in Minneapolis to attend CU's event on Tuesday.
"What he is doing is unique," Stout continued. "He has a different mindset as far as the whole student-athlete experience and the fact that he has been outspoken about if his players have to donate, they are going to donate. We are really grateful for that."
The most well-known story coming out of MacIntyre's program is that of McCartney, the Buffalo outside linebacker whose stem cell donation helped save a man's life. McCartney met his match last fall before Colorado's senior day game and his story throughout the process attracted national headlines.
Facts About The Be The Match Program
• More people of diverse heritage are urgently needed on the Be The Match Registry to save more lives. Patients are most likely to match and adult donor or cord blood unit of their own ethnic background. Currently, the chance of having a matched, available donor on Be The Match Registry® ranges from 66 to 90 percent, depending on ethnic background.
• Doctors request donors in the 18–44 age group more than 95 percent of the time.
• The cost of adding a new member to the Be The Match Registry is about $100. People can make financial contributions to the Be The Match Foundation® to cover the cost of adding more members to the registry. Everyone is asked to give what they can. Visit BeTheMatchFoundation.org to make a contribution.
• Myths about marrow donation can prevent people from signing up. Know the facts. The most common method of donating today does not require surgery. Most donors say they would donate again to save a life.