JMU Sport Programs to Team up for Bone Marrow Drive Wednesday

James Madison women's soccer, men's soccer and football are are teaming up with the University Health Center and Be the Match on Wednesday, April 12 to gather individuals to register to get their cheek swabbed in the Student Success Center and Festival from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event is organized by Be The Match to identify individuals who could become a potential life-saving bone marrow donor.

The event marks the second year for women's soccer to host a Be the Match event on campus, thanks in part to a personal connection to the cause. Former women's soccer assistant coach and former men's soccer student-athlete Bobby Johnston had one of his 5-year-old twin sons diagnosed with a rare form of childhood leukemia last year and found it was difficult to find bone marrow donors. Thankfully, his son matched with a donor about a year ago but there are still so many more victims in need of a donor.

JMU football will be partnering with the efforts as part of the Colonial Athletic Association's league-wide collaborations with the Be the Match program. Each conference football squad hosted at least one event with the organization during the school year.

Be The Match is a non-profit organization operated by the National Marrow Donor Program and for the last 25 years has managed the largest and most diverse marrow registry in the world. The registry is a potentially life-saving tool for thousands of individuals diagnosed with blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma.

Women's soccer Head Coach Dave Lombardo encouraged everyone to participate in Wednesday's event because "a few seconds can virtually save a life."

For more information about Be the Match and how to get involved, please visit www.bethematch.org.

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