Jake Marion ’26 was matched through a collaboration between Club Nursing and the Elon football program to promote bone marrow donation.
Every spring, outside of Lakeside dining, volunteer members from Club Nursing and the Elon Football program join forces to support bone marrow donation. For Jake Marion ’26, it’s a combination of his athletic and academic communities on campus.
Marion joined the registry through Elon Football in 2022. He was almost matched in previous years, but blood testing revealed it was not a high enough match necessary for donation. That all changed this year when he got a call in January to begin the donation process, making him Elon’s first bone marrow donation from the “Be the Match” initiative.
The National Marrow Donor Program® (formerly Be The Match) is a national nonprofit agency whose mission is to spread awareness of the need for bone marrow donation and to increase the number of participants in the bone marrow registry. While Elon Football has worked with the organization for several years, Club Nursing joined in 2024 for an annual awareness and registry event.
“I remember at Lakeside, it was cool because there was the football team, me in the middle, and then a lot of people from Club Nursing,” Marion said. “So, it was cool to see both of those groups merge.”
To begin the donation process, Marion had his blood tested to make sure he is a 100% match, filled out a long questionnaire, got a metabolic panel, and an in-depth physical examination.
Assistant Professor of Nursing and Club Nursing faculty advisor, Jeanmarie Koonts commends Marion for his ability to delegate his coursework while being there for someone in need.
“I am in awe and it makes me feel so humbled. Jake is putting the compassion, commitment and caring of nursing into action. He is truly giving himself to make someone’s life better,” Koonts said. “And Jake is a busy man. He is a senior with an intense workload, who is also a varsity athlete. Yet, he has put someone else’s need above all of this.”
In preparation for the retrieval process, Marion will begin receiving injections, called filgrastim, a week prior.
“It’s basically a medication they give to cancer patients, but for donors, it’s specifically to increase your stem cell count,” Marion said. “And then on the day I get the donation, it’s usually a six-hour process. They put an IV in each arm at the elbow bend, and you just sit there. It’ll take your blood, and then it goes into a machine, grabs all the stem cells, and returns the blood back into the other IV. After that, you just kind of avoid strenuous activities for a week.”
To complete the donation, Marion will miss three days of classes and make up the work afterwards in recovery. Despite it all, his main concern is the ability to make a difference.
“Cancer is a huge problem, and I think the ability to even have the chance to help someone live longer or cure their specific type of cancer is really just an awesome feeling,” Marion said. “It’s something that not many people experience, and I’m very grateful for it. I’m just glad that I can help someone.”
The next Club Nursing “Be the Match” event will be held on March 30, 2026. For more information, contact Club Nursing.