Jake Marion 鈥26 was matched through a collaboration between Club Nursing and the 黑料不打烊 football program to promote bone marrow donation.
Every spring, outside of Lakeside dining, volunteer members from Club Nursing and the 黑料不打烊 Football program join forces to support bone marrow听donation. For Jake Marion 鈥26,听it鈥檚听a combination of his athletic and academic communities on campus.听听
Marion joined the registry through 黑料不打烊 Football in 2022. He was almost matched in previous years, but blood testing revealed it was not a high enough match necessary for donation. That all changed this year when he got a call in January to begin the donation process,听making him听黑料不打烊鈥檚 first bone marrow donation since the collaboration between the football program and Club Nursing.
鈥(formerly Be The Match)听is听a national nonprofit agency whose mission is to spread awareness of the need for bone marrow donation and to increase the number of participants in the听bone marrow听registry.鈥疻hile with the organization for several years, Club Nursing听joined听in 2024 for an annual awareness and registry event.听听
鈥淚 remember at Lakeside, it was cool because there was the football team, me in the middle, and then a lot of people from Club Nursing,鈥 Marion said. 鈥淪o, it was cool to see both of those groups merge.鈥澨听
To begin the donation process, Marion had his blood tested to make sure he听is听a 100% match, filled out a long questionnaire, got a metabolic panel, and an in-depth physical examination.听
Assistant Professor of Nursing and Club Nursing faculty advisor, Jeanmarie Koonts commends Marion for his ability to delegate his coursework while being there for someone in need.听听
鈥淚 am in awe and it makes me feel so humbled. Jake is putting听the听compassion,听commitment听and caring of nursing into action. He is truly giving himself to make someone鈥檚 life better,鈥 Koonts said. 鈥淎nd Jake is a busy man. He is a senior with an intense workload, who is also a varsity athlete. Yet, he has put someone else鈥檚 need听above all of听this.鈥澨
In preparation for the retrieval process, Marion will begin receiving injections, called filgrastim, a week prior.听听
鈥淚t鈥檚 basically a medication they give to cancer patients, but for donors, it鈥檚 specifically to increase your stem cell count,鈥 Marion said. 鈥淎nd then on the day I get the donation,听it鈥檚听usually a six-hour process. They put an IV in each arm at the elbow bend, and you just sit there.听It鈥檒l听take your blood, and then it goes into a machine, grabs all the stem cells, and returns the blood back into the other IV. After that, you just听kind of avoid听strenuous activities for a week.鈥澨听
To complete the donation, Marion will miss three days of classes and make up the work afterwards in recovery. Despite it all, his main concern is the ability to make a difference.听听
鈥淐ancer is a huge problem, and I think the ability to even have the chance to help someone live longer or cure their specific type of cancer is really just an awesome feeling,鈥 Marion said.听鈥淚t鈥檚听something that听not many听people experience, and听I鈥檓听very grateful听for it.听I鈥檓听just glad听that I can help someone.鈥澨听
The next football and Club Nursing registry event will be held on March 30, 2026. For more information, contact听.听听