The Healthcare Professionals Club at BYU–Hawaii teamed up with “Be the Match,” a national marrow donor program American actor Jason Momoa holds Rhyder, a boy in need of a blood stem cell transplant, during a “Be the Match” campaign event hosted by BYU–Hawaii. BYU–Hawaii Facebook
The Healthcare Professionals Club at BYU–Hawaii teamed up with “Be the Match,” a national marrow donor program and hosted American actor and Hawaii native Jason Momoa.
A BYU–Hawaii Facebook post reported that the campaign helped to increase awareness about the “Be the Match” registry and helped over 350 individuals swab and join the registry list. In photos during the event, Momoa is seen holding a little boy named Rhyder, a Hawaii resident in need of a blood stem cell transplant. On Instagram, a user responded to BYU–Hawaii’s post about the event: “Thank you BYU Hawaii for hosting this event. Rhyder and my family felt the warm welcome and aloha from all of you. This event will spread more awareness on the lack of Asian-American and Pacific Islander donors on the registry. It is such a blessing knowing over 350 people joined the registry. This brings us a step closer to finding Rhyder’s match and this also gives hope to many others still searching. Thank you again.”
According to Hawaii News Now, Momoa’s friend is battling acute myeloid leukemia and is in need of a blood stem cell transplant. Momoa thanked everyone for coming and made a plea to the public to see if they also could be a match. Momoa is not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His film credits include portraying Aquaman in superhero DC Films and playing Duncan Idaho in “Dune.” In a Facebook story, several BYU–Hawaii students expressed why they joined the registry during the event: “I swabbed because I care.” “I swabbed because I want to be a superhero and save lives.”
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