College pitcher agrees to donate bone marrow in middle of senior season
A senior pitcher at the University of South Carolina Beaufort has agreed to donate bone marrow to a boy in France after testing showed his marrow is the boy's best chance at survival, according to the team.
The pitcher, Jason Boulais, might not be able to pitch again for the rest of the season (and thus his career) due to the recovery process of a transplant. He's hoping to return in time for the conference tournament, but he knows what he's doing is much more important.
"I was happy to be able to potentially help somebody out, save someone's life," Boulais said. "It's a blessing to have something I can be proud to do. I'm going to miss a few games because of it, but for someone to be able to potentially keep living is a lot more important."
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It was back in October when Boulais signed up with Be The Match Registry and was added to its worldwide database of potential bone marrow donors. According to the team, only one in 540 U.S. members of the registry eventually end up donating to a patient in need, but Boulais said he and his dad had a "gut feeling" he would be that one.
His coach, Bryan Lewallyn, said the pitcher has the team's "full support."
"As a coach, a lot of these kids are kind of your second kids, and you have those same experiences — you love them sometimes, you get upset with them sometimes, you're really proud of them sometimes and you're really disappointed in them at times," Lewallyn said. "To be so proud of him, and then on the flip side of that to be a parent and know that somebody else is willing to sacrifice to help somebody else in need, you're proud and you would just hope that someone would do the same if it were your child."
[FTW]
- Molly Geary
