Albany, NY – Russell Sage College's athletic teams and community will be holding a "Be The Match Drive" on Monday, April 17 from 11:00 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event will take place in both Albany on the KCC Lawn as well as in Troy at the front of the Buchman. 

Every three minutes, someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer like leukemia.

For patients with blood cancers like leukemia, lymphoma and other life-threatening diseases, a cure exists. Be The Match® is a community of donors, volunteers, health care professionals and researchers who deliver cures by helping patients get the life-saving marrow transplant they need.

Our passion to save lives drives us to help more patients survive each year.

Simple and Painless Cheek Swab

Free kits are provided by be the match and after a few short questions, a simple swab of the inside of your cheek and you are ready to maybe save a life!

What it takes to save a life

You probably have a few questions about how donation affects your daily life:

85% of donations involve no surgery at all—it's like donating plasma

Discomfort and side affects vary from person to person

It takes a few hours a week for a few weeks

It costs you nothing to donate

Donating doesn't impact your ability to have kids

There are very few risks in our donation process. Every precaution is taken to ensure the safety and well-being of every donor.

More on this event and why it is personal for the RSC athletic department.

Ann King (Halfmoon, NY), who came to Russell Sage College in the summer of 2009, serves as the Director of Athletic Communications.

My story!

When I arrived at RSC in the spring of 2009, little did I know how much my life would change and that the Gators would be become a second family not only for myself, but my husband , Tracy and my son, Robert.  Being around so many amazing student-athletes and coaches has been a true honor and I have most certainly enjoyed documenting your feats and accomplishments.

Fast forward to the spring of 2021, in the midst of our world being closed down due to what we would learn was covid-19, I began a new personal journey. I was diagnosed with stage 2-3 non-metastatic breast cancer in my right breast. My treatment began with eight rounds of intensive chemotherapy over 16 weeks from late June to mid-October 2021. You saw me lose my hair and watched it come back. During that time I felt the love and support of the entire Gator Community! That winter I underwent three surgeries followed by 36 doses of radiation in the spring of 2022. And you embraced me too. Not only was I overwhelmed by your support with the Ann's Army shirts for the Albany Making Strides Walk this past fall, so was my family!

The support of SageNation and the Gators has been a strength for me and was the backbone for a new journey that I did not know would be waiting around the corner. As we all left for the first semester break in December 2022, I started to become tired, weak and covered in bruises and had started to lose lots of weight. On January 9 my blood levels had dropped significantly and by week's end I would be in Albany Medical Center in what would be a five week stay in the blood cancer wing. I had been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. The doctors believe that the chemotherapy that I received for breast cancer caused leukemia.

Since January 13, I have had countless instances of support from my Gator family as I have had visitors at Albany Med, cards, Gators to watch over me in my hospital room and plenty of outpourings of energy and love from SageNation. I have even been blessed with nurses that are RSC graduates or students in our amazing nursing program to help me as I have now spent over seven weeks there since the beginning of the year.

What's next: Be the Match! Because of the selflessness of individuals just like you, I have my Be the Match person. I received a call on April 7 to tell me that a donor has been found and that I will be receiving a bone marrow transplant this spring!  This really amazing and simple act of a cheek swab can save a life. For my family, we owe so much to my donor, whomever they might be. This will hopefully help me be around to see my son graduate from high school this June, see him begin college this fall and spend time with my husband, Tracy and my family and friends. And hopefully, one day soon, be back at RSC to continue to share my passion for our amazing Gators.