Tyler Genneken was diagnosed with leukemia three years ago and after agressive treatments seemed to be rounding the corner to resuming the normal life of a teenage boy.
Then, tragically, he relapsed in the summer of 2009. Tyler's illness necessitates a bone marrow transplant. No one in his family is a match for Tyler, so he turned to the Be the Match Registry to find a donor. While there are 8 million members on the registry, there is currently no match for Tyler.
Tyler is not alone in his search. Seventy-percent of people who need a bone marrow transplant will not find a match in their family and will need to turn to the national registry. Less than four-out-of-10 people who need a bone marrow transplant ever receive one. Therefore, building the number and diversity of donors in the registry is essential to saving thousands of lives for decades to come.
Though Tyler does not have a match, he and his family want to create meaning from their struggle. Their wish is to give hope to the thousands of others who are searching for a match today or who will in the future.
Tyler lost his battle on November 4, 2009.