$297K in expenses

The andy talley bone marrow foundation (atbmf) primarily runs one initiative called the "get in the game" (gitg) program. Operated and managed in conjunction with their partner, NMDP, gitg utilizes the power of collegiate athletics to save lives and cure blood cancers and disorders (such as leukemia, lymphoma and sickle cell anemia) by registering young potential blood STEM cell/bone marrow donors to the NMDP registry. For many patients, a transplant is the only treatment option. In many cases, a transplant offers a complete cure. The gitg program recruits college athletic teams to host donor recruitment drives on campus. Athletes in turn recruit their classmates and peers to complete a buccal swab kit to join the national registry. College aged students are the optimal candidates for non-related bone marrow donation; they have young marrow, and they are willing to donate. The success of the program rests in the fact that registrants are hearing and seeing firsthand from their peers that becoming a donor and saving a life is an amazing opportunity that they themselves can experience. Gitg has become one of the most successful donor recruitment programs in the country.