The College of Wooster football team is set to host its second blood stem cell registry drive through a partnership with the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP, formerly known as Be The Match). Wooster's registration drive will take place on Monday, April 29 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. inside the Lowry Student Center at the student tabling tables. If you registered at last year's event, or are already registered with a national bone marrow registry, you should not register again.

Hundreds of college athletic teams have registered thousands of their team members, peers, and local community members for the NMDP registry. Wooster football players will run tables to assist students, faculty, staff, and local community members with their NMDP process, which includes a registration, filling out a health history form, and providing a swab inside your cheek. The registry drive is open to people ages 18 to 40 years old, and the event is open to the local community.

More young people of diverse racial and ethnic heritage are needed to help patients searching for a match. People between the ages of 18 and 35 are most urgently needed since they are requested by transplant doctors most often, and research shows that these donors provide the greatest chance for transplant success.

Every year, 12,000 patients are diagnosed with life-threatening blood cancers or other diseases like sickle cell, for which a blood stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor may be their best or only hope for a cure. NMDP connects patients with a matching donor for a life-saving blood stem cell transplant. A blood stem cell transplant can cure or treat more than 75 difference diseases, including leukemia and lymphoma, aplastic anemia, and sickle cell and immune-deficiency disorders. NMDP has facilitated more than 120,000 transplants since 1987 and continues to impact more lives every year. NMDP is a global leader in bone marrow transplantation and conducts research to improve transplant outcomes, provides support and resources for patients, and partners with a global network.

"It is important to understand the blessing that we have been given with our opportunity to play football at any level," said senior tight end and kicker Sebestyen Balassy, who is helping spearhead Wooster's registry event. "The game has brought me and so many players opportunities that otherwise may not have been possible. Because of this, we have a responsibility to pay it forward in any way that we can. With the help of football teams all around the country, we can aid in spreading the message and awareness of registering for blood and bone narrow donations in their community to hopefully save and change lives for the greater good."

Those unable to make Wooster's football team's registry drive can join the NMDP donor registry online, order a free cheek swab kit from NMDP, and return it to the organization.

Of note, the NMDP's regional account representative cited Wooster's 2023 drive as "one of the most successful first year events I have seen in my nearly 14 years with the organization."