Villanova University hosted the 31st annual Bone Marrow Registry Drive on Wednesday, April 17 and, despite the rainy, less-than-ideal conditions outside the doors of the Connelly Center, the event inside was a success.
Between Villanova legend and the event’s creator, Andy Talley, National Marrow Donor (NMD) personnel, Villanova football players and Villanova nursing students, the event brought in thousands of Villanovans in the hope of being that match some people desperately are looking for. If Talley on the day of the program was any indication, he was quite happy with how things would end up.
“It’s going great, [and] right now we have help from the nurses, as a whole crew of nurses that rotate through the day, and help us do the drive, it’s very, very helpful,” Talley said. “And so far, a lot of the football team has been here as well, with coach [Mark] Ferrante, and they’re doing a great job trying to encourage students that are walking through to, “Come on, hey, you know, it’s a cheek swab, it’s easy to do that type of thing,” so it’s been great.”
Notable all throughout campus, particularly on the day of the drive, was the widespread presence and enthusiasm displayed by members of that aforementioned football team, widely encouraging students and other Villanova community members alike to go for the cheek swab and be registered. For the program’s current leader, head coach Mark Ferrante, these actions were nothing new. If anything, for Ferrante, it was simply a continuation of the norm he’s observed as of late.
“I think we just have a good group of human beings [and] it’s not just that event,” Ferrante said. “It’s the Radnor Middle School visit, it’s the Ithan Elementary School visit, the Team IMPACT involvement, the Athletes Helping Athletes involvement. Our guys and Villanova in general do a good job in understanding what servant leadership is and our guys do a good job at giving back as opposed to always wanting to be takers.”
The registry drive and cheek swab mentioned by Talley are done to put Villanovans on the registry list and creating the possibility for them to be matched to someone in need of a bone marrow transplant to treat cancer or other blood diseases. These transplants replace those cancerous or unhealthy stem cells with new, healthy ones.
With Talley’s leadership and the football team’s help in getting the word out, last week’s drive certainly helped only add more registrants to the previous list. While perhaps not hitting last year’s all-time high of more than 50,000 sign-ups, the 2024 iteration will absolutely aid the registration number. Prior to the event, there were more than 159,000 donors, which led to 880 transplants, according to the Talley Foundation website. And Talley himself, a national champion and the all-time leader in wins for Villanova football, is no stranger to the on-campus impact football players can have.
“Well, they’re critical, because they are the ones that have continued to advertise that there’s going to be a bone marrow drive on campus, two or three weeks out,” Talley said. “And I know they were on all of the different outlets leading up to the drive, to spread the word and to also talk to their friends. So if you have 100 football players, spreading the word to two or three of their friends, you could have 300 people just on that alone [and so] it’s very, very important.”
In all likelihood, the rainy weather on the day of probably did play a part in lessening registration numbers from hitting the highs of last year, a sentiment echoed in the words of both Talley and Ferrante. However, nothing could kill the enthusiasm of a day with the potential for saving lives.
“I think the event itself went extremely well, especially in the beginning, until the rain started and then the rain affected us a little bit,” Ferrante said. “But the enthusiasm and the effort by our team, our ‘Nova nurses and everyone else that was surrounding the event, WXVU and everybody that was there. [Overall], I thought the enthusiasm and energy was really good.”
Villanova’s resident radio station played an active role in the event which marked back-to-back consecutive years the station covered the event in a collaboration with Villanova Football and VU Nursing. WXVU broadcaster and Sports Director David Szczepanski spoke on the importance of covering this event, not just for Villanovans but for those not on campus for the day.
“Obviously, the bone marrow registry is great for students on campus to take part in. However, we also wanted to provide some coverage and spread awareness about marrow drives and the NMDP’s work to those at home,” Szczepanski said. “Coming off a CAA title winning season, Villanova football players and coaches also provided helpful insight into the recent season and upcoming schedule for Villanova fans, including their connection to the bone marrow drive.”
The live coverage included information on spreading awareness for bone marrow registration, interviews with Talley, current football players and nurses, previous donors and many more, with the coverage available on WXVU’s football feed on both Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
“Covering the NMDP (National Marrow Donor Program) went really well for WXVU and the entire initiative,” Szczepanski said. “We addressed numerous misconceptions about the registry and how people can continue to get people involved in the NMDP process and registry. [Personally], I think everyone shared pretty unique and powerful stories. Coach Ferrante discussed his continuation of the drive from Coach Talley and how it builds community for the football team. It’s an important way for the football team to support the Villanova community and others.”
Beyond WXVU’s involvement and the leadership of the Talley Foundation, the event was also greatly added by SNAP, the Villanova chapter of the Student Nurses’ Association of Pennsylvania.
Student coordinator Meghan Harris led the way on scheduling and promotion and SNAP president Isabella Galasso worked with their Bone Marrow Donor Drive Chair to inform association members and nursing students on the importance of donating.
“We encourage our members and other nursing students to join the registry and volunteer at the event on the day of,” Galasso said. “It is such an amazing experience to work with other nursing students along with the football team to educate so many people and make such an important day come to life. As a nursing student, this event is truly inspiring to me. Bone marrow and stem cell donations can change a patient’s life and give them the opportunity to grow up, play sports, go to college, get married and so on. By joining the registry, students like myself have the opportunity to be a part of this process.”
Galasso is no stranger to involvement with the program. As a freshman, the now-junior joined the registry and was a volunteer on the day of, with the day becoming quite special for her.
“It was an incredible experience and I am so excited to be a part of such a special day again this year,” Galasso said. “By being on the registry, you could potentially save a life. It is not guaranteed that you will get a call that you are a match. However, if you get the call that you are a match you have the opportunity to donate bone marrow [or] stem cells to truly save someone’s life. These procedures are not invasive and can have an impact on a patient that is unimaginable and life changing.”
