Share Life: Bone Marrow Registry

The Gilroy Rotary Club’s commitment to the Share Life Bone Marrow Registry program began when member Malcolm MacPhail, pastor at the New Hope Community Assembly of God, was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. Doctors said his only chance of survival was to find a "perfect match" bone marrow donor.

Malcolm’s fellow Rotarians immediately rallied to support him. They donated blood to the Red Cross and registered with the national “Be a Match” bone marrow database. Although none of the club’s members proved to be a direct match, Malcolm eventually found a suitable donor and underwent a successful transplant in March 1999. Meanwhile, some of the Gilroy Rotary members turned out to be matches for other people seeking donors. The wife of local boxing hero Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero was also a recipient of a bone marrow transplant.

Inspired by these successes, the Gilroy Rotary Club decided to host a “Be the Match” registry every year outside the Gilroy Garlic Festival Wine Pavilion. The process is quick and easy—now requiring just a cheek swab—and over 5,000 people have registered since 2000.

We encourage everyone, especially minorities and people ages 18-44, to register for the program and see if you too might “Be a Match” and save a life!