During the month of February, the Exercise Science Student Alliance and Public Health Student Association typically team up to sponsor a heart health campaign to help educate the Baker students. However, the organizations decided to take on a different campaign this month by partnering with the nonprofit organization Be The Match to host a donation drive in honor of a local child who is in need of bone marrow.

Approximately 18,000 people across the country are in need of bone marrow transplants every year. Be The Match is a national bone marrow donor registry that aims to find these individuals lifesaving donations.

“Be The Match is the largest donor registry and we’re the most diverse,” Recruitment Coordinator Cortni Lind said. “Our job is to bring education, awareness and ultimately get people to join the registry.”

A simple cheek swab and a survey are required to join the registry, which is where the Exercise Science Student Alliance and Public Health Student Association come in.

To kick off their partnership, the organizations are hosting a donor registration drive on Feb. 15 in the Harter Union from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Club members will be helping students and faculty between the ages of 18 and 40 administer the swabs to join the registry.

“This is a really exciting opportunity for our students,” Chair of Applied Health Science and Associate Professor of Exercise Science Dr. Erin Holt said. “When Be The Match came into my class in the fall, we were kind of burnt out on doing the same events over and over, so we switched because February is also Cancer Prevention Month.”

In addition to the event being a kick-off, it is also being held in honor of Grant, a 6-year-old from De Soto, Kan. Grant has aplastic anemia, a form of bone marrow failure and is in need of a full-match transplant.

He had previously received news of three perfect matches: two of which turned down donation and one who could not donate due to health complications. Grant has been dependent on plasma and platelet transfusions for several months and has undergone chemotherapy to prepare him for a potential transplant.

“We’re just really working hard to try to find a donor for Grant; we have colleagues all over the country that are hosting drives in honor of him,” Lind said. “And how amazing would it be if we found a donor literally in his backyard in Baldwin City?”

If someone from the Feb. 15 drive were to be a match for Grant, the earliest they would know would be a month after due to the length of the testing process. If any donor on the registry is a match, Be The Match pays for all medical expenses that are incurred by donating, as well as travel expenses for the donor and a companion if the situation requires it.

In addition to the Exercise Science Student Alliance and Public Health Student Association partnership, Baker Athletics has also partnered with Be The Match through their Get In The Game program. This aims to get more athletes on the registry, as they have higher chances of being contacted about donating; about one in 187 compared to one in 430, according to Lind. Baker is the first college in Kansas to be a part of this program.

“At some point, hopefully a month or 10 years down the road when you guys would all be alumni, we would be able to say, ‘That’s great, Baker had a donor,’” Lind said.

Senior Rijad Osmankovic had the opportunity to fill Be The Match’s first internship position. Since working there, he has been able to help coordinate campus efforts, as well as connect the organization with other local groups and businesses to spread awareness.

“It means a lot. Who can ask more than to save a person’s life?” Osmankovic said. “I think it’s really important that we get involved with as many people as possible because these are lifesaving treatments and lifesaving donations.”

Those who have previously registered through Be The Match should keep their contact information up to date. Anyone interested in registering can stop by the Harter Union on Feb. 15 between 10:30am to 2:30 pm to learn more.