K-State football teams up with 'Be The Match' to find bone marrow donors
MANHATTAN, Kan. (KSNT) - K-State football players and coaches used their name, image and likeness to promote a better cause.
The team partnered with "Be The Match," an organization with the National Marrow Donor Program that creates a database of potential donors that could help someone in need.
Set up outside the K-State Student Union, the Wildcats helped passersby swab for to enter the database.
"We are just trying to recruit people to be put their names on the register," K-State Quarterback Will Howard said. "All we have to do is get people to kind of spread the word we're trying to, you know, advertise this as much as we can kind of explain a little bit what this is."
According to Be the Match, every three minutes, someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer like leukemia. Transplanting reproductive cells found in matching bone marrow is among the best ways to cure the disease.
"When you think about the little work that we do, a little work that we could do to make a tremendous impact on someone else's life... you will do it ten times out of ten," Assistant Head Football Coach Van Malone said.
When former K-State linebacker Nick Allen's father became a recipient of a bone marrow transplant, the team saw first hand the effects behind the cause.
"It gave me the drive I needed to help our team be a part of this," Malone said.
"A lot of people... they really stuck with them and it's really cool how the team it helps us come together a little bit," Howard said.
Howard and Malone spearheaded this event, but neither of them knew the other was interested until Howard brought it to head coach Chris Klieman's attention.
"So I you know, when I brought that up, I had no idea that coach was working on at the same time. So we worked on separately and then obviously came together," Howard said.
"That was another special moment for me. To find out Will is doing it at the same time, it was great," Malone said.
The team got over 700 people to sign up at the event.
You can sign up to be a donor at the Be The Match.