When the father of Nick Bergamotto ’26 developed a serious illness last fall, a bone marrow transplant helped save his life. To pay that gift forward, his son helped organize a bone marrow registry drive at Siena.
Just a quick cheek swab is all that’s needed to become part of the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), which connects thousands of patients every year with donors for life saving blood stem cell transplants. Bergamotto’s dad (Nick, Sr.) was diagnosed in October with myelodysplastic syndrome; a donor match was found within a couple months and his transplant was done in January. He is now 80 days out from the procedure and doing well.
The Caldwell, N.J. family is of course grateful to the donor – and the national registry that brought them together – and wants other families to be able to experience this blessing. A college campus is the perfect place to seek potential donors since candidates need to be between 18 and 35. Bergamotto organized his fellow Siena baseball team members (above) and other volunteers for the April 16 Siena drive, with tables set up at the Marcelle Athletic Complex and Roger Bacon Hall. The NMDP representative was hoping for 50-60 potential donors to sign up: Siena gave him more than 130 new Saints for their registry.
Friends of Anna McLoon, Ph.D., associate professor of biology, are hoping to benefit as well. The eight-year-old daughter of McLoon’s college friend is seeking a donor match.
The phrase “bone marrow transplant” may sound a bit…bone chilling? But if you’re on the donor end, it’s actually simple and painless, and NMDP will cover all your costs. Once you’re in the registry, if you’re found to be a match with a patient, NMDP will organize transportation and lodging for you to travel to the patient’s location to make your gift of life.
The Caldwell, N.J. family is of course grateful to the donor – and the national registry that brought them together – and wants other families to be able to experience this blessing. A college campus is the perfect place to seek potential donors since candidates need to be between 18 and 35. Bergamotto organized his fellow Siena baseball team members (above) and other volunteers for the April 16 Siena drive, with tables set up at the Marcelle Athletic Complex and Roger Bacon Hall. The NMDP representative was hoping for 50-60 potential donors to sign up: Siena gave him more than 130 new Saints for their registry.
Friends of Anna McLoon, Ph.D., associate professor of biology, are hoping to benefit as well. The eight-year-old daughter of McLoon’s college friend is seeking a donor match.
The phrase “bone marrow transplant” may sound a bit…bone chilling? But if you’re on the donor end, it’s actually simple and painless, and NMDP will cover all your costs. Once you’re in the registry, if you’re found to be a match with a patient, NMDP will organize transportation and lodging for you to travel to the patient’s location to make your gift of life.
“As a donor, you just need to be mentally and emotionally ready to make the gift of yourself,” explained McLoon. “Donating itself is not a heavily invasive procedure and it’s a pretty concrete way to give back.”
Bergamotto, McLoon, and Suzie Barry, D.O., director of Siena’s joint program with Albany Medical College, visited classes ahead of the registry drive to educate students about bone marrow donation and encourage Saints to get swabbed and sign up. The group is hoping to make such registration drives a regular occurrence on campus. Don’t want to wait? Go to the NMDP site - they will send you a swab kit and get you signed up.
