Thousands of terminally ill cancer patients get a second chance at life with a program building a registry of life-saving donors.

The Be The Match Foundation, an installment of the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), works to build a registry of potential bone marrow and umbilical cord blood donors for those fighting blood cancers.

Magda Silva, Be The Match Northwest District senior account executive, said for many patients, transplants are their only chance at beating their disease.

According to the NMDP, over 12,000 patients are diagnosed annually with life-threatening blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma. Of these patients, 70 percent do not have a matching donor in their family.

“In these cases a bone marrow or umbilical cord blood transplant from an unrelated donor may be their best or only hope of a cure,” Silva said.

Anyone between the ages of 18-44 can become donors, but the foundation found that young people tend to make the best donors. Be The Match has reached out to over 30 college campuses nationwide in hopes of attracting young donors.

Junior communication major Kyndell White said she first became involved with Be The Match last spring after hearing about a local cancer patient that needed a transplant. Due to a medical condition, White was unable to join the registry, but decided to become involved in a different way.

“I was inspired by his story and wanted to help, so I held a drive at my sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, in hopes of getting more people registered,” she said. “We got over 125 people registered; I was so excited.”

Silva, along with White, hopes to organize a Be The Match chapter at WSU in the near future. Silva said a student leader is still needed for the chapter.

Sophomore communication major Alexis LoCicero said having a chapter at WSU is a good idea.

“I feel like the sororities would be really into having a section here, and could make it a part of their chapters,” LoCicero said. “It really is for a good cause.”

Senior business major Gabe Abram agreed that having a WSU chapter could prove beneficial and provide an outlet for people to help others.

“I believe the chapter can accomplish great things, but it all depends on the willingness of the students to participate,” Abram explained. “With our population of students I feel that the chapter can reach success.”

Those who want to get involved but are not eligible to be a donor can get involved by making monetary donations.

People wanting to donate can do so through the Be The Match website, or by texting “MATCH 506” to 50555 to donate $10.

“We all spend a ton of time on our phones throughout the day,” White said. “We might as well save a life by doing it.”

Along with their registry, the Be The Match Foundation also has social media tool called “My Social Strand” that reveals facts and trends amongst your network while hinting at the value of joining the foundation.

“My Social Strand is a fun experience on Facebook that shows you interesting things about your social network, while raising awareness about the Be The Match Registry,” Silva said. “It digs into your Facebook timeline and shows stats and trends about user and their friends.”

To learn more about becoming a donor, visit BeTheMatch.org or MySocialStrand.com.