BOSTON – Emmanuel's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) hosted its inaugural Get in the Game Stem Cell Drive on Tuesday, April 15, outside the Jean Yawkey Center, in association with the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP, formerly Be the Match). NMDP harnesses the power of cell therapy to treat and cure blood cancers and other blood disorders.

Working alongside members of Emmanuel SAAC, NMDP was able to add 138 new names to the donor list following Tuesday's event. With a quick registration for the NMDP database and a saliva sample collected by swabbing the inside of the mouth, a new group of Emmanuel students are eligible to help impact the lives of those affected by blood cancers and disorders.

"The turnout today is more than we could have ever asked for," said Emmanuel SAAC Advisor and Senior Woman Administrator Brenna Morrissey. "To see our community come out, Get in the Game, and get their names added to this registry for such an important cause is amazing."

Student-athletes from all of Emmanuel's 16 Division III teams assisted in the cause, showing continued enthusiasm in getting people to register.

According to NMDP, every three to four minutes, a person is diagnosed with a form of blood cancer, but volunteers registered to donate can help cure or treat over 75 different diseases, including sickle cell and leukemia.

"We had student-athletes staying over their scheduled time just to continue helping our cause," said NMDP East Regional Recruiter Rachel Miller. "I had student-athletes mention how great it was and how good they felt getting people to register to save a life, and that just means a lot!

With Emmanuel's addition to NMDPs Get in the Game, they become one of 375 colleges or universities to participate, adding to the list of nearly 250,000 students that have been identified as potential donors. To date, over 1,400 students nationwide have donated their healthy blood stem cells to someone battling a blood disease.