A Day on the Hill: Marrow Transplant Patients and Advocates Rally Congress
People from across the country whose lives have been impacted by marrow donation – whether they have received a transplant or donated marrow to a stranger – met in Washington, D.C. on July 18 for Legislative Day. Their goal: to urge continued Congressional support of Be The Match®.
Despite 100 degree temperatures, Legislative Day was a huge success. Patient and donor advocates, alongside Be The Match Chief Executive Officer Dr. Chell and Chief Strategy Officer Michael Boo, participated in more than 30 meetings with lawmakers and staffers.
Representative Keith Ellison of Minneapolis was so moved by his meeting with transplant recipient Betsy Lucas that he joined the Be The Match Registry® at a donor registry drive on the Hill. Ray Johnston – musician, former Dallas Mavericks basketball player and five-time leukemia survivor – also accompanied Be The Match on the Hill and played a few inspirational songs.
The success of Legislative Day helped Be The Match strengthen its relationships with legislative influencers, grow the involvement of our patient and donor advocates, and generated some great media coverage.
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Wonderful. Glad to hear it was a huge success. What was the result and response by Congress as far as additional support or funding?
It has been wonderful to watch the NMDP grow exponentially over the years.
Sandy Lee
Bone Marrow Donor- June 21,1993
Hi Sandy- Legislative Day was a huge success! The personal contacts that our advocates made with dozens of legislators will help ensure continued support for Be The Match. The appropriations process in Congress is an on-going process, but we are hopeful that efforts like Legislative Day will ensure that Be The Match will receive continued or expanded funding in the future. Thank you for your support!
I’ve been absent for a while, but now I remember why I used to love this website. Thank you, I will try and check back more often. How frequently you update your website?