Bone Marrow Donor Registry Event
DATE: Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017
TIMES: 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. & 4:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Cougar Walk, Azusa Pacific University East Campus
MORE INFO: BeTheMatch.org / Referral Code: swabforlaura

AZUSA, Calif. -- Former Azusa Pacific baseball player Joe Huthsing '16 joined the bone marrow transplant registry as little more than an afterthought.

While participating in a blood drive organized by the Cougar baseball program as a college freshman in 2013, Huthsing was presented with the option to add his name to the Be The Match® registry, to which he said to himself, "Why not?"

Three years later, Huthsing was selected as the best potential match for a transplant recipient, and he provided the life-saving bone marrow treatments to a young mother who received a second chance at life because of Huthsing's willingness to participate in the registry program.

"I didn't sign up to be a hero," Huthsing recalled. "What's been meaningful to me is that this has given someone a chance to do something they wouldn't have been able to do. When I see my experience and think about how my mother was able to watch me graduate college and play college sports, it's powerful to know that the recipient is also a mom who gets to be there for her children and be involved in their life as they grow up."

Azusa Pacific Athletics extends its support for an upcoming bone marrow registration event which takes place on Wednesday, Nov. 15.

Wednesday's registry event is in support of Laura, a 32-year old alumni of Azusa Pacific. Laura is a mother, wife, art teacher, daughter, sister and friend, who was recently diagnosed with leukemia. Laura's doctors at City of Hope have recommended a marrow transplant to cure her from this illness, and Wednesday's event encourages individuals to join the Be The Match Registry® to see if a match can be found for Laura, or any patient searching for a match.

Joining the registry requires a sample of cells, usually collected by swabbing the inside of your cheek. Doctors search Be The Match Registry® to find donors with certain markers which match those of their patients.

"There's no reason to wait to sign up," Huthsing said. "Matches can be extremely difficult, and for some people there's not even a match; for other people, it might only be one person. If you wait (to register), you might miss the person that needs you tomorrow. The sooner you sign up, the more chance you're giving people who need help."

For more details about the bone marrow donor registry, visit BeTheMatch.org