By Police1 Staff
MINNEAPOLIS — After LAPD officer Matthew Medina, 40, was diagnosed with aplastic anemia — a potentially life-threatening disease in which the marrow in the body stops working — his first responder family came through.
Medina, who is searching for a marrow donor, is currently being kept alive through blood transfusions. His search went viral and led to hundreds of people joining the national Be the Match registry, a press release said.
“The tremendous amount of support Matt has received from family, friends, our first responder community and even strangers has been unbelievable,” Officer Dante Pagulayan, Medina’s LAPD partner, said. “Each person who joined the registry on Matt’s behalf gives him and thousands of patients searching for a matching donor the strength and hope they need to keep fighting.”
The company was inspired by the first responders’ commitment to saving lives every day and launched a campaign geared toward the first responder community called Register & Respond. The goal is to encourage more first responders to join the donor registry and in turn, inspire their communities to do the same.
“First responders understand better than anyone the importance of stepping up when lives are on the line,” Kim Allen, director, community engagement and national accounts, said. “When they get the call to donate, they’ll be there to respond. That’s why Be The Match is partnering with first responders across the country to host donor registry drives and raise awareness about the need for more young, committed marrow donors to join the Be The Match Registry.”
Medina is still searching for a match and his family and friends hope that he will find one, potentially in the Filipino community. His story has pushed dozens of people to join the registry. The company says that with more potential bone marrow donors on the registry, the more patients they can help.
Anyone can sign up to join the registry by going to bethematch.org/register2respond.