Roanoke College held a national bone marrow registry drive Wednesday, April 16, in support of sophomore student Eddie Kaufman, who is undergoing treatment for T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
The event took place from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Wortmann Ballroom on the Roanoke College campus. Open to the public, the drive welcomed potential donors ages 18 to 40 to complete a simple cheek swab and join the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) registry.
Kaufman, an outfielder on the Roanoke College baseball team, was diagnosed in October 2024 after noticing swollen lymph nodes. He is currently receiving treatment at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
The college partnered with the NMDP in hopes of finding a 10/10 donor match for Kaufman. A full match is critical to reducing the risk of transplant rejection and improving treatment outcomes.
“Anyone who joins the registry has the chance to be a life-saving match — not only for Eddie, but for someone else in need,” organizers said.
According to NMDP, someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with blood cancer every three to four minutes, and 70% of patients do not have a matching donor in their family. Most donations are made through a process similar to plasma donation and are generally pain-free, with minimal recovery time.
