By Sam Trunkett, CLA Ambassador

“Be the Match” is an organization that aims to build a large and diverse registry of potential bone marrow donors who can help those suffering from advanced blood cancers. In the fall of 2013, two Oregon State University students, Blair Fettig and Jesse McGinty, teamed up and established a “Be the Match” university chapter in the hopes of finding a donor for a fellow OSU student. Since then the OSU’s “Be The Match” chapter has registered over 1,000 potential donors through on-campus events. Today, the group is tasked with staging another event for a very special individual.

Rio Ramirez, a fun-loving and spunky four year old, was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia in December of 2015. He is just one of 14,000 individuals waiting for a bone marrow transplant. The “Be the Match” team is trying to up Rio’s odds of finding a bone marrow donor by arranging a super hero themed bone marrow registry event and fundraiser in his honor. If you are in Corvallis and would like to get registered to be a potential bone marrow donor or you would like to attend the event it will be at Franklin Elementary School. On top of joining the national donor registry with “Be the Match,” there will be live music, a silent auction, and a bake sale. All of the proceeds will towards Rio and his family. If you are not able to attend but still wish to be a super hero and help Rio out during this difficult time you can donate here: https://www.gofundme.com/eef5vn8c