Searching for a Match

Photo Courtesy of Orlando Gray 

Anyone looking for the potential to save a life and make a difference, listen up. On April 7 from 10am to 2pm in the Subway Sides Conference Room of Concord University’s Student Center, students and members of the Concord community will have the opportunity to do just that during “Daniel’s Day.”

“I am bringing a national bone marrow registry called ‘Be the Match’ to Concord. Basically, anybody who wants to be a bone marrow donor will get their cheeks swabbed and will be put into a registry. If they are a potential match for somebody needing a bone marrow transplant, they will be called to possibly donate,” said Orlando Gray, a Concord senior and coordinator of the event.

He stresses that just because one attends and gets put on the registry doesn’t mean they will be obligated to donate marrow that second. “Some people may be called a week after joining and some people may be on the registry their whole life and never be called to donate. The good thing is, all expenses associated with donating are paid for by the match, and you can leave the registry at any time if you decide you no longer want to be a donor,” Gray said.

Not only can members of the community be registered to be donors, but they can also donate money either in addition to or in place of being added to the registry. It is free to be added to the registry, and a representative of Be the Match will be there to collect donations for the organization.

Although this event will be beneficial to anyone who may need a bone marrow transplant, this event in particular is specifically being held to look for a donor for a local boy. “Daniel is a 3-year-old boy who lives in Charleston, WV. He has cancer and will eventually need a bone marrow transplant,” explained Gray.

He has high hopes for the university’s involvement and the success of this event. “I hope to raise money for Be the Match and get the Concord community to be civically engaged. I also hope to get a turnout of new registry members. One thing this event has done and will do is bring awareness,” he said.

“Some people did not know that there was such a thing as bone marrow donation or registry such as Be the Match. The reality is, members of our very own community here at Concord have needed bone marrow transplants. Hopefully, Concord students will be more educated about this from the event,” Gray said.

Gray has been involved with this organization for a while, and is excited about bringing it to Concord’s campus. “I am personally involved with Be the Match. I learned about Be the Match was I was a senior in high school, back in 2010-2011,” said Gray.

“I joined the registry and then went to various seminars at my school to educate my peers about it and to get them to join the registry if they so wanted to. When I learned that I had to organize an event for class, I knew that I wanted to do something meaningful, and one of the first things that came to mind was Be the Match,” he said.

“People should be involved because they may be the best match for somebody out there who needs a transplant and nobody would ever know because they are not on the registry,” said Gray.

Anyone who is interested in learning more about this event should join the Facebook event created by Gray, called “Concord for Daniel (Daniel’s Day).”