Utah Boy Scout Aims to Save Lives with 'Be the Match' Bone Marrow Drive at LDS Hospital

WHAT: 

How many Eagle Scout projects have the potential to save lives? Ethan Stryker's innovative project does.  

After being inspired by his mother’s work as a nurse in the Blood & Marrow Transplant Unit at LDS Hospital, Boy Scout Ethan Stryker decided to dedicate his Eagle Scout project to helping patients – like those in his mother’s care – find their cure for cancer by hosting a "Be The Match" blood and marrow registry drive at LDS Hospital. 

"When it came time to choose my Eagle Scout project, I knew I wanted to be part of something meaningful and long-lasting,” says Ethan. “I learned about bone marrow transplants about five years ago when my mom got a job as a nurse on the Bone Marrow Transplant floor at LDS Hospital. My mom has told our family so many stories about how devastating blood cancers can be, not only for the patient, but the entire family. I knew I wanted to help.” 

Ethan's "Be The Match" drive is scheduled to run all day on Friday in the lobby of LDS Hospital. 

NOTE: Media are invited to cover the story on Friday from 10 a.m. to noon. 

Ethan’s goal is to add 100 people to the "Be The Match" registry, which helps connect patients with life-saving bone marrow donors. For some patients diagnosed with blood cancer, no medication or chemotherapy will save their lives and their only hope for a cure is by getting a bone marrow transplant. The problem is, more than 70 percent of patients won’t have a matched donor in their families. Many times, the only hope for a transplant will come through the generosity of strangers willing to become bone marrow donors.

Joining the registry is easy. All it takes is a little paperwork and four quick cheek swabs. If people can’t come to Ethan's drive in person, they can join the registry online at Join.BeTheMatch.org/LDSH. 

WHEN: 
Friday, January 29th 
10 a.m. to Noon

WHERE: 
LDS Hospital
Main Lobby
8th Avenue and C Street, SLC