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Donating bone marrow is a painful sacrifice. 21-year-old Shot put athlete, Camereon Lyle, had signed up to be a bone marrow donor on a whim, but when the call came for him to donate he took it seriously. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey said I was a possible match. And I admit it was kind of frightening for a few minutes,\u201d Lyle says. \u201cBut I had made up my mind when I did the mouth swab and joined the registry that if it happened I would donate. Otherwise, why bother registering?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Donating marrow is very different from donating blood. Instead of a single day of recovery, it will be weeks before this big strong college athlete will be able to even lift more than 20 pounds. Lyle’s decision to go through with the donation meant he’d need to quit the track team and give up his chance at a championship. He was worried that his coach, Jim Boulanger, would be upset.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI remember he came into my office, closed the door, and said \u2018Coach, we need to talk.\u2019 And then he told me, \u2018I\u2019m a bone marrow match,\u2019\u200a\u201d Boulanger says. \u201cAnd you know what I told him? Let\u2019s see, 12 throws in Binghamton [host of the conference track and field championship] or save a life? Do it. Donate. Sport is not bigger than life. Sport is a part of life.\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n