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Every four minutes a person is diagnosed with a blood cancer. That equals 15 persons an hour and 360 people a day, according to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville senior Bailee Ronto.

That dire statistic is what caused Ronto to organize the SIUE chapter of Be The Match on Campus (BTMOC), which are college groups affiliated with the national Be The Match.

People between the ages of 18-44 make the best potential marrow donors.

Ronto, president of the SIUE chapter of BTMOC, also worked to enlist the help of the SIUE softball team to join her group to host a March 23-25 donor drive and softball game awareness event. The campaign on campus was in honor of Missouri State University (MSU) softball player Allie Alvstad.

Alvstad was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia and needed a bone marrow transplant. Thanks to Be The Match, Alvstad received a life-saving transplant.

On Wednesday, March 25, the SIUE Cougars played a home game against the MSU Bears. The Cougars donned orange wrist bands (the color that signifies leukemia). The Bears wore orange jerseys in honor of Alvstad.

“The SIUE BTMOC chapter registered people at the game to become bone marrow donors and collected monetary donations as well,” said Ronto, who is working as an intern for Be The Match this spring. “For the entire three-day drive, we registered about 50 people and raised about $1,000. We had tremendous support.”

Of the many people donating swab samples during the SIUE donor drive were softball players: Allison Smiley, Rebecca Gray and Brittany Toney.

“My sister had leukemia when she was 18 months old,” said Smiley, a sophomore majoring in speech pathology. “We never needed a donor. She had chemotherapy, and at the age of 4 she was cured. With all of that, I realize the importance of helping others. She will be 16 years old in April.”

“I want to work in pediatric oncology,” said Gray, a senior majoring in exercise science and nursing. “If I can help someone now, then that will mean a lot to me.”

“If I was in this kind of situation, I would want someone to help me,” Toney said. “It’s an important thing to donate. I don’t know why African American donor numbers are low, but I’m doing my part.”

More people are needed to volunteer, said Amy Brousseau, community engagement representative for Be The Match.

“One person in every 540 will actually go on to donate,” Brousseau said. “We also need people to join the registry who are from diverse backgrounds. We have 11 million people on the national registry, and only 7 percent of those are African Americans. So, for our African American and other ethnic/diverse patients, they could have a harder time finding a match.”

Brousseau and Ronto work together setting up drives and fund raisers throughout the south central region of Illinois.

“All in all, this organization has captured my attention and I honestly cannot see my life without being involved in some way with Be The Match,” said Ronto, who joined the registry in October 2014. “If I can help save one life through the donation of my own bone marrow or by helping with fundraising efforts and education, then it’s all been worth it.”

Photos:

Conducting swab samples are Amy Hart, of the SIUE Cougars Softball Team, and David Fournie, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Shown at Wednesday’s softball game between the SUE Cougars and MSU Bears (from left to right): Beth Perine, MSU associate head coach; Amy Brousseau, Be The Match community engagement representative; Holly Hesse, MSU head coach; Bailee Ronto, SIUE senior and Be The Match On Campus president; Alecia Williams, SIUE senior and member of Be The Match On Campus; and Sue Frederick, MSU associate head coach.

Up to bat is SIUE Cougar player, Brittany Toney.