For the second year in a row the football team took time away from its work on the gridiron to help those in need.
On April 8 the team hosted a bone marrow drive at Solomon Court in conjunction with the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), a nonprofit organization that helps people with life-threatening illnesses receive bone marrow transplants. In some cases, a transplant may help patients survive diseases such as leukemia, aplastic anemia and Hodgkin's disease.
Sara Gigantino, operations director for the team, organized the event to help the NMDP find potential donors. The drive involved donors filling out paperwork and submitting DNA from a cheek swab, which was then examined for cell type and entered into the national database. Those with DNA compatible to patients in need of transplant are eligible to donate bone marrow.
Gigantino said the event was once again a success.
“We managed to register 416 people this year, which is the second year in a row that we got over 400 people to sign up,” Gigantino said. “No other school that holds a bone marrow drive like this has registered this many people, so we were quite pleased with the results.”
The effort to hold a bone marrow drive began thanks to Villanova head coach Andy Talley, who started the First and Goal campaign to help the NMDP find matches. More than 20 schools now participate in the campaign.
To make the drive a success each player on the team submitted 12 names of people they knew who could possibly submit DNA samples. Players and coaches assisted donors during the drive and helped recruit people to come to the event.
Yaroslav Mukha, a sophomore linebacker on the team, said he encouraged people from his classes to come to the event. Gigantino commended Mukha for his extraordinary work on the drive.
“I was just looking to do my part to help a good cause,” said Mukha.
“I was just looking to do my part to help a good cause,” said Mukha.
The team was also fortunate to receive help from an alumnus who made a big contribution to the effort through his company.
Northeastern graduate Don Smith donated raffle prizes, which included Red Sox tickets and a campus parking pass. Smith, the CEO of the jet travel company FlyPrivate, said he was happy help his alma mater with the drive.
“We were looking for a charitable cause that the company could get involved with and this jumped out to me,” Smith said. “My co-worker, Greg Goodwin, is a graduate of Villanova and he told me about the bone marrow campaign. When I learned that Northeastern was holding a drive I knew this was something I wanted to be a part of.”
To Smith the drive was important for personal reasons as well. His mother needed a bone marrow transplant after she learned she had multiple myeloma, an incurable but treatable disease that causes bone pain, infection and neurological symptoms . Similarly another friend of Smith’s has leukemia and traveled to Seattle regarding a possible bone marrow match.
Because Smith is familiar with the impact bone marrow donors can make he puts a lot of support into the drive, he said.
“We do a lot of small things for charity but this is our biggest one,” Smith said.
Every day an estimated 6,000 people search the NMDP’s database for potential donor matches. The football team’s drive was part of an effort to get 5,000 people registered through the First and Goal campaign.
Gigantino stressed the need for donors is high and that an event like this helps people live their lives.
“The drive was successful last year and successful again this year,” Gigantino said. “Next year we will look to continue the effort and try to get more people signed up.”
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