Duquesne University Football Coach Jerry Schmitt Honored by the Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation as Nation's Top Donor Recruiter in 2017

Villanova, PA, January 31, 2018 (Newswire.com) - ​​Duquesne University Football Head Coach Jerry Schmitt was honored by The Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation recently at the 2018 American Football Coaches Association Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.

At the foundation’s reception for the college football coaches participating in the national campaign, Schmitt received an award from the foundation’s founder, recently retired Villanova University Football Coach Andy Talley, and the foundation’s Executive Director, Krista Ross, recognizing him as the top bone marrow registry recruiter in 2017, with 732 donors registered.

The Dukes football coach has been active with The Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation for the past eight years, and at their annual on-campus registration drive in April 2017, student-athletes from all sports as well as members of the Duquesne campus community helped put the school at the top of the 80 programs nationwide participating.

"We have been a part of The Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation and the ‘Get in the Game, Save a Life’ program for the past eight years, and this was our best result so far,” said Schmitt, who is entering his 14^th season with Duquesne Football. “It is extremely powerful for our players and our staff to recruit registrants to help save a life.  Coach Talley has said we are all part of this family, and we thank him for including us in that family.”

The mission of The Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation, which raises awareness, funds and registers donors on behalf of the national Be The Match Registry®, is to increase the odds of finding lifesaving donors for patients in need of a marrow transplant, by registering young, committed donors to the Be the Match Registry.  In partnership with Be The Match, operated by the National Marrow Donor Program^®, Talley launched the “Get in the Game. Save a Life” initiative.  Coach Talley has enlisted over 80 college football programs to participate in the “Get in the Game, Save a Life” initiative, with each college football program hosting their own on-campus donor drives each spring.

Since 2008, the Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation’s “Get in the Game, Save a Life” registry drives have been responsible for adding over 84,000 potential donors. More importantly, there have been nearly 400 transplants that have occurred with the program’s donors, giving those patients a second chance at life. The Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation’s fundraising efforts include events, such as their annual “Bash” in the Philadelphia area and several golf outings, to help support the expense of registering approximately 10,000 new bone marrow donors each year.  With a price tag of $100 per donor per test, the program relies on charitable donations from corporate sponsors and individuals to support the program.  To date, the Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation has raised over $400,000 in support of the Be The Match program. Additional information about the Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation is available on their website at http://www.TalleyBoneMarrow.org.

Source: The Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation