One year ago in July 2021, the Sigma Alpha Epsilon social fraternity partnered with Be The Match® to engage members of its extensive network of chapters in registry drives to add more young, healthy and willing donors to the national registry. Thousands of college students across the nation have joined the Be The Match Registry® as a direct result of the partnership.
The values supported by SAE include creating life-long friendships and connections that last beyond their college years. The organization also emphasizes community service. Leadership and students alike have embraced the goal of adding more donors to the Be The Match Registry, recognizing the ripple effect that will extend beyond college campuses and into hospitals where patients and their families anxiously await matching donors.
One SAE brother, Frank Ginocchio, understands the importance of selfless giving and bonds that go deeper than his biological family. Frank had spent 25 years in leadership for SAE before fate would take him on a harrowing journey. In January 2018, Frank received a life-altering diagnosis –— he had two aggressive and deadly blood diseases. Doctors predicted Frank would have just 14 months to survive.
Frank’s only hope for a cure was a blood stem cell transplant from a matching donor. The answer to his need would come from a 23-year-old German woman, not much older than most SAE members when they join the fraternity.
Learn more about Frank’s journey and what led his donor, Bettina, to donate blood stem cells to a stranger halfway around the world. (Link)