Villanova’s Szczur prepared for bone-marrow donation

[chris]

By Greg Johnson
The NCAA News


Matt Szczur’s student-athlete experiences couldn’t have gone much better in 2009.

Last spring, he led the Villanova baseball team in hitting with .346 average, and this fall he played an integral role in the Wildcats’ first NCAA Football Championship Subdivision title, captured in a 23-21 win over Montana on December 18.

Szczur (pronounced See-zur) produced 270 all-purpose yards in the final, including a career-high 159 yards rushing. He was named the game’s most outstanding player.

But none of the accomplishments can top a potential life-saving procedure he is willing to undergo.

In December, Szczur learned that he was a match for a 13-month-old girl who appeared to need a bone marrow transplant. Szczur has never met the girl or her family, but he was scheduled to donate bone marrow January 4. The procedure was postponed because the child is showing signs of producing enough stem cells on her own. Further testing is needed to see if Szczur’s bone marrow is needed. If the call comes, he will be a willing donor.

“The nurse who called me said the little girl is doing fine now, but we’ll wait to see what happens,” Szczur said.

People with cancer may receive a bone marrow transplant as part of their cancer treatment plan. Healthy bone marrow is given to help the recipient produce infection-fighting cells the body needs to stay healthy.

click here to read more

[dbackjon]

Awesome he is doing this!

[andy7171]

What a dick!