Football to Host Bone Marrow Registry Drive

March 30, 2009

KINGSTON, R.I. - Rhode Island football head coach Joe Trainer and the Rhody football team will host a bone marrow registry drive from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 25 in Keaney Gymnasium.

Following the bone marrow registry drive, the team will take part in its annual Blue and White spring game, beginning at 1 p.m.

"I told each of our guys that this event will be one of the most important things we will do this season," Trainer said. "There are five people that are within 15 miles of our campus that are in need of a bone marrow transplant and we want to do our part to not only help them out, but people across the country."

Trainer and the URI football program have partnered with the National Marrow Donor Program to take their efforts to the national level. This year the team has set a goal of signing up 250 new individuals to the national registry.

"This is a great program to be a part of and I think it will give our players some perspective as to what some people across the nation are dealing with on a day-to-day basis," Trainer said.

There are 20 million people worldwide who are registered as potential marrow donors. Still, there are only about 250 matches found each year, making it a 1-in-80,000 chance that a registered donor will be a match.

For more information on the bone marrow registry drive, contact Dan Silva in the Rhode Island football office at 401-874-5211.