Cardinals and St. Louis Baseball Writers Team Up to Host Third Annual #JoinForJoe Bone Marrow Donor Drive

Drive to be Held on September 15 at Busch Stadium in Honor of Longtime Cardinals Beat Writer Joe Strauss

ST. LOUIS, Mo., September 6, 2018– For the third consecutive year, the St. Louis Cardinals, in conjunction with the St. Louis Baseball Writers and Be The Match, will host the#Join4Joe bone marrow donor drive at Busch Stadium on Saturday, September 15, to educate individuals about how to join the national registry and increase the chances of finding a donor match for those awaiting a life-saving bone marrow transplant.  The event was organized in 2016 to honor the legacy of Joe Strauss, who covered the Cardinals for 14 years at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and passed away in December 2015 at the age of 54 after a courageous battle fighting leukemia.

 “The baseball writers are proud to partner with the St. Louis Cardinals to continue honoring Joe’s legacy by helping others battling Leukemia, lymphoma and other blood cancers find bone marrow donors,” said MLB.com’s Cardinals reporter Jenifer Langosch, who worked with Joe. “We have added over 200 potential donors to the registry through this event, and we hope to see those numbers continue this year so that more lives can be saved.”

The St. Louis Cardinals announced last year that they would annually partner with the St. Louis baseball writers to sponsor the drive in Joe’s name and have developed a formal intake process via cardinals.com/join4joe to sign up donors all year round.

This year, volunteers will be stationed at Ford Plaza and the Budweiser Terrace from 10:05 a.m.-2 p.m. as the

Cardinals host the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 12:05 p.m. game that afternoon.  Volunteers will be educating fans about the mission of Be The Match and assisting those interested in joining the national registry with ordering their swab kit. Stem cell transplant recipients and donors will be on hand to share their experiences with the process.

“There is a great need for bone marrow donors and #Joine4Joe is our opportunity to educate fans on how a simple cheek swab could save someone’s life,” said Michael Hall, Vice President, Community Relations & Executive Director, Cardinals Care. “While we hope to add a significant number of names to the national registry on September 15, we also want to encourage fans not in attendance that they too can become a donor by visiting cardinals.com/join4joe.

With more than 13.5 million potential bone marrow donors, the Be The Match registry is the world’s largest and most diverse donor registry.  Seventy percent of patients needing a transplant will not have a family member match and therefore rely upon Be The Match to find one.  More than 14,000 people remain in need of a donor.  Fans interested in joining the registry at the September 15 will request a cheek swab kit through an online link or text. Representatives from Be the Match will be on hand to demonstrate how to complete the swab. Be The Match is specifically looking for donors age 18-44, as research shows that cells from younger donors lead to more successful transplants.

“We are very grateful to both the baseball writers and the St. Louis Cardinals for organizing this drive,” said Denise M. Mosley, Community Engagement Representative for Be The Match. “We encourage everyone to come to Busch Stadium on September 15th, support the drive, cheer on the Cardinals and do their part to help save a life.”

Fans can learn more about the #Join4Joe drive and join the national registry by requesting a donor kit anytime at cardinals.com/join4joe.  Fans may also in the conversation with #Join4Joe.

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