WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — Top 40 and sister station WIFC will be hosting the inaugural Be the Match radiothon in mid-March.
Be the Match, is the national marrow donor program to help patients with blood cancer and blood diseases to receive lifesaving treatments. Jessica Klingberg, the Community Engagement Specialist for Be the Match in Appleton says the goal for Be the Match is to get people to join the marrow donation registry.
“Our goal is to recruit people to join this registry in hopes of upping the odds. Because at the end of the day it’s really a numbers game. The more people that we can add to the registry the more likely we’ll be able to find more matches for patients who need it.”
Joining the registry is easy and Klingberg says it only takes about 10 minutes. “The registration process only requires logging on to our URL or using the text to join code. And ultimately it takes less than 10 minutes to fill out the information and complete the health screening questionnaire. And we actually mail them the cheek swab kit. All they have to do is swab the side of the cheek and send it back. And we give them a call if they’re ever a potential match for one of these patients.”
Klingberg notes there are a lot of misconceptions about bone marrow donation. Some of which include that it’s a frightening process, but Klingberg says it most likely would be like donating blood. “About 20% of the collections are an actual marrow extraction. Which is not as scary, like you won’t be losing 7 pounds or the way that a lot of media portrays it. And 80% of the time it’s actual peripheral blood stem cell collection. And what that looks like is a process that is very similar to donating plasma and platelets.”
The radiothon on WIFC on March 21st is the first radiothon that Be the Match has ever done. Klingberg says there are three main goals with the radiothon with WIFC. “The biggest piece is the education piece. There are so many myths and misconceptions about the registry, about the donation process. The second piece we certainly encouraging people who are ready and are interested in committing to this registry and helping these patients to join. So the third piece we want to really accomplish with this is to enforce the commitment.”
Klingberg says Be the Match has changed their registration process recently. And that almost 50% of people currently on the registry would say no if asked to donate. So the program is looking for committed volunteers and people to donate marrow.
The WIFC Be the Match radiothon will be on March 21st from 6 am to 6 pm. The broadcast will include stories from donors, patients, and recipients involved with Be the Match to help listeners learn about the program and how to join the bone marrow registry. You can find more about the event on WIFC.com’s website under WIFC Be the Match page.
Both WSAU and WIFC are owned and operated by Midwest Communications, INC.
