Right now thousands of patients are searching for a match. These patients depend on people to make a commitment to their cure by joining the Be the Match Registry. signing up is painless, free, and takes about 5 minutes.

Trish Goodwin’s son Austin is one of the thousands of patients searching for a match. Austin needs a bone marrow transplant and he hasen’t found a perfect match yet. A bone marrow transplant is Austin’s only option since chemo and CarT have both failed.

Many people don’t realize a parent isn’t a perfect match for their child and siblings only have a 25% chance of being a match. So most donors are strangers!

So many people, of all ages, need a match to save their life. Be the Match helps find donors all over the world and covers all costs for the donor, including lost work days to go donate, travel, lodging, etc. they will even board your pets! Whatever they can do to enable a person to help save a life!

A Be The Match registration event will take place on Friday, March 13 from 10 am – 2 pm at All Tangled Up on Front Street. There will also be a blood drive on Saturday, March 14 at Walmart in Natchitoches. Then another Be The Match event will be held at All Hours Fittness in Many on March 20.

If you are between the ages of 18-44 and can’t make it but want to get tested you can go online fill in your info. They mail you a cheek swab, you swab your cheek, mail it back in the envelope provided and that’s it!

Text CURE78 to 61474 to get the link sent to your phone.