The University of Connecticut’s athletic department will host four separate bone marrow registry drives throughout November.
The drives were organized in honor of 8-year-old Ben Rabinowitz, who was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia in September of 2023.
“He spent pretty much six months straight in the hospital,” said his father Sean Rabinowitz, who is a UConn graduate alongside his wife Kara.
Two events already took place at a men’s and women’s ice hockey game. The last two will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at a men’s basketball game and Wednesday, Nov. 20 at a women’s basketball game.
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Rabinowitz, who is a season ticket holder, said he’s grateful for the community’s support, especially from Andrea Hurley, the wife of UConn men’s basketball head coach Dan Hurley.
He said Andrea formed a bond with Ben and his family during his first stint in the hospital.
“They’re just terrific human beings. Andrea Hurley doesn’t have to do this. Dan Hurley doesn’t need to support it. UConn doesn’t need to support it,” he said.
He said he’s not a match for Ben, but stresses the importance of getting on the registry.
According to the National Marrow Donor Program, every three to four minutes in the United States, someone is diagnosed with blood cancer, but 70% of patients don’t have a full match donor inside of their family.
People can join the registry from home by texting "UConnBenStrong" to 61474.
