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Join the Ithaca College Athletic department next Thursday, September 19 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Emerson Suites as the Bombers will partner with NMDP (formerly Be The Match & National Marrow Donor Program) to recruit blood stem cell donors.

The event encourages healthy people between the ages of 18 to 44 to sign up to join the Be The Match Registry for Bone Marrow donors. To sign up as a committed registry member, people need to meet age and health guidelines and be willing to donate to any patient in need. Joining the registry takes just a few minutes and is free of charge. If selected, marrow donations are also free of charge with all expenses covered for the donor in the event a match is found.

This year’s Be the Match drive is of special significance to the Ithaca College community. Jack Dembow ‘77, an esteemed alumni member of the Ithaca College Board of Trustees, was recently diagnosed with Myeloid Dysplastic Syndrome (MDS). There are no traditional chemotherapy treatments that are effective in fighting this rare form of bone marrow cancer, so Jack will need bone marrow transplants to help with the treatment of his illness.

“I am so grateful to the Ithaca College community for volunteering their time to make this happen, and for agreeing to be a match if they are ever called to support someone like me,” said Dembow.

Please help IC Athletics show support for Jack and his family by participating in our campaign.

About NMDP

NMDP is a global nonprofit leader in cell therapy, helping save the lives of patients with blood cancers and disorders.Since 1987, NMDP has impacted more than 130,000 lives through cell therapy. In 2023, we impacted 7,435 lives—the most in any one year in their history.

As the recognized leader in unrelated blood stem cell transplantation, NMDP continues to develop services and interactive technologies used by transplant experts around the world to reach more patients.

NMDP also continues to lead the way in developing new cell therapies, in advancing services to speed the transplant process and improving treatments for post-transplant complications. We invest in dedicated researchers, whose countless hours in the lab have helped more patients than ever before receive a transplant.