During the recruitment drive, 126 fans joined the registry.  Just last week, three of those fans were identified as matches for three different patients in need – a 9 year old girl suffering from an immune system disorder, and a 23 year old female and 67 year old male, both diagnosed with leukemia.   Executive Director and Founder of Gift of Life, Jay Feinberg, was astonished, proclaiming “Never before in Gift of Life history has one drive generated three matches in one week!”

“This is a wonderful story of the PawSox and the community coming together to do something beyond special – saving lives,” said PawSox president Mike Tamburro.  “We salute our fans, the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation, and wish the three and patients and their donors the very best with their upcoming transplants.”

Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation started in 1991 to find Jay his miracle match.  Diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia, Jay’s only hope of survival was a bone marrow transplant.  After four years, Jay’s match was found when the 60,000th person was tested at the very last drive held on his behalf.  Today, he remains committed to saving the lives of others by increasing the numbers of donors in the world-wide registry.  Gift of Life is among the top international registries, with more than 187,000 potential volunteer donors, and is responsible for facilitating more than 2,300 bone marrow transplants.

Donor drives, like the one held at McCoy Stadium, do save lives.  Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation is committed to finding a match anytime, anywhere, for anyone. Joining the registry is easy, requiring only a simple cheek swab.  Donors must be between the ages of 18 and 60 and in general good health.  For more information on Gift of Life and how to organize a drive in your area, please call please call 1-800-9MARROW or visit www.giftoflife.org.