For the Power Dodge Estevan Bruins, it was a chance to throw their support behind a process that saves lives.
The Bruins partnered with FAv Regina and the One Match Bone Marrow Drive before and during the Oct. 7 game against the La Ronge Ice Wolves. FAv stands for Fanconi Anemia Vonn, and is named after Vonn Chorneyko, a seven-year-old Regina boy who has been diagnosed with Fanconi anemia, a rare genetic condition that affects the bone marrow.
Ryan Gobeil, the Bruins marketing manager, told Lifestyles that the players from the Bruins and the Ice Wolves signed up for a bone marrow registry, and they were swabbed before the game, to see if they might be matches for Vonn.
The American players on the two teams weren’t eligible, because they don’t have a health card from a Canadian province. But all the Canadian players agreed to participate.
“That’s huge for us to see other teams come in here and do a good thing like that,” said Gobeil. “We’re rivals on the ice, but off the ice, I think everyone has an equal goal to see people thrive.”
They asked the fans to support the drive, and about 60 of them went through the registration process. A total of 104 people were registered by the end of the night.
“We thought it would be good (to do this),” said Gobeil. “It’s a family that’s close with our coach (head coach and general manager Chris Lewgood), and it’s near and dear to my heart as well.”
He hoped they would have 100 people register, so the final figure surpassed his expectations.
The names of the people who signed up will be entered into the national registry.
It will be a while before the club knows if there was a successful match from the bone marrow drive.
“From what I understand, they swab you, and then if you’re a match at that level, then they take a blood test, and they test for three more things, and then if you’re a match at that level, they do another test for three more things,” said Gobeil.
He noted that roughly one in 100 people will be a match for someone needing a bone marrow transplant.
“The way I look at it, is someone in Estevan probably just saved a life,” said Gobeil. “That’s huge for us.”
The club played a video in the first intermission to promote One Match and FAv, and that attracted a lot of support.
“Once people realized that the group out front was trying to save lives, they jumped behind it pretty quickly,” said Gobeil.
Gobeil has been in Estevan for just a few months, but he has already marvelled at the generosity of local residents. He saw it during the flood in July, when the community helped those who were adversely affected, and now they’re getting behind One Match.
“It’s huge for the people of Estevan to be willing to take a few minutes out of their day to try to save a life,” said Gobeil.
