
Saving lives through bone marrow donation
Be the match. Save a life
Join the marrow registry today and join Project 44’s mission to save 44 lives. All it takes is a quick cheek swab, and you could have the chance to save a life.
Drive the conversation
Donate to Project 44 and support our efforts to save lives by fostering a sense of moral obligation and willingness to support and join the bone marrow registry.
Host a drive
Want to join the Project 44 team? Raising awareness for the national bone marrow registry and hosting a drive is the best way you can help! Contact us today to get started!
About Project 44
Launched in 2016, Project 44 was created in honor of the late Andrew Smith. Wearing the #44, Andrew was a beloved, standout member of Butler’s two-time NCAA Finals basketball team. Having been a personal recipient of a bone marrow transplant in November of 2015, Andrew and his wife Samantha were blessed with an additional three months together to make and share memories that would last well beyond Andrew’s final days on earth. On January 12, 2016, at the age of 25, Andrew passed away following a two-year battle with cancer.
Committed to carrying out Andrew’s selfless work, Project 44’s initial goal is to save 44 lives. With a 1:430 ratio of registrants to matches, 18,920 new registry members are needed. Now an incorporated 501(c)3 non-profit organization, Project 44’s enhanced broader mission is to save lives by fostering a mainstream sense of moral obligation and willingness to support and join the bone marrow registry.
#44, Our Inspiration
Andrew’s passion for the bone marrow registry was ignited when, after learning he would need a bone marrow transplant, a match would not be so easily found if the roles were reversed and it was his wife Samantha needing a match. As a male of European decent, Andrew was quickly matched with a donor. But due to limitations in the registry’s ethnically diverse membership, many patients with varied ethnic backgrounds would die waiting for a match. This injustice did not sit well with Andrew, so in the midst of his own battle, he and Samantha made it their mission to raise critical awareness for Be The Match, the nation’s largest bone marrow registry.
#44, Our Inspiration
Andrew’s passion for the bone marrow registry was ignited when, after learning he would need a bone marrow transplant, a match would not be so easily found if the roles were reversed and it was his wife Samantha needing a match. As a male of European decent, Andrew was quickly matched with a donor. But due to limitations in the registry’s ethnically diverse membership, many patients with varied ethnic backgrounds would die waiting for a match. This injustice did not sit well with Andrew, so in the midst of his own battle, he and Samantha made it their mission to raise critical awareness for Be The Match, the nation’s largest bone marrow registry.
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