Our Story
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WHERE WE BEGAN
Adding Donors…Saving Lives…One Campus at a Time!
In November 2010, Andy Talley and co-founder Krista Ross embarked on a mission close to their hearts and formed the Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation.
This marked the formal inception of a journey that had begun nearly two decades earlier for Coach Talley. The foundation was dedicated to increasing the chances of finding life-saving donors for patients in need of blood stem cell or bone marrow transplants by enlisting young, committed donors to the NMDPSM Registry.
Coach Talley’s commitment to facilitating opportunities for joining the NMDP Registry had roots tracing back to the fall of 1992. After hearing on the radio the daunting statistics confronting individuals in need of blood stem cell and bone marrow transplants, he knew he had to do something. Coach Talley harnessed the energy and enthusiasm of his team of young, healthy football players to kick-start his mission. This initial on-campus event heralded the commencement of his tireless efforts to raise awareness about the crucial importance of blood stem cell and bone marrow donor registration. That year, over 200 student-athletes stepped up and joined the National Registry. Coach Talley persistently organized registration drives on the Villanova and other surrounding Philadelphia-area campuses in the ensuing years.
In a pivotal moment in 2008, NMDP (at the time Be The Match®) reached out to Coach Talley, recognizing the potential synergy in their shared mission. Collaboratively, they launched the “Get in the Game” (GITG) initiative.
Through his efforts over the years, more than 350 college football programs have joined the GITG initiative. Each spring, these football programs host their own on-campus registration events. Since the inception of GITG in 2008, more than 250,000 potential donors have been added to the Registry resulting in more than 2,000 transplants and counting! This is a true testament to the profound impact of the GITG program in offering hope and renewed life to patients and their families.
Our Mission
The Mission of the Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation is to increase the odds of finding lifesaving donors for patients in need of a bone marrow or blood stem cell transplant by registering young, committed and diverse donors to the NMDP Registry.