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Little Rock man with aplastic anemia urges donors to register for ‘Be The Match’

Your healthy blood stem cells can literally be the cure for diseases like leukemia, lymphoma or sickle cell.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — It’s March Madness, but for one Little Rock man, it is Match Madness

Be’lee McNeil is 25 years old, and at his young age, he has already been through a life-changing experience. 

When Be’lee was a senior in college in 2019, he woke up and realized he could not see out of my right eye. 

"I went to get checked out, and after an exam and a consultation with an ophthalmologist, they realized I was hemorrhaging out of both eyes," Be'Lee said. "I was sent to the ER and given a blood transfusion. Even with the transfusion, my platelets continued to drop. I had to do two blood transfusions and two platelet transfusions."

A week later, Be'Lee was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, which is a condition that occurs when your body stops producing enough new blood cells.

This March - April, Be’lee is the center of the Be The Match - Match Madness campaign.

As a biracial person, like Be'Lee, it is extremely hard to find a match. African Americans only have a 23 percent chance of finding a matching donor compared to a 77 percent chance for Caucasian patients, so more Black donors are urgently needed.

"Luckily, I’m doing ok," Be'Lee said. "So I don’t need a match right now, but not everyone is that lucky. It’s important for me to share my story so people of color have a real shot of finding a matching donor."

Your healthy blood stem cells can literally be the cure for diseases like leukemia, lymphoma or sickle cell.

Be’lee and Be The Match are encouraging people to join the Be The Match Registry and help save lives all across the world!

Anyone ages 18-44 years old can sign up to join the registry by texting MatchMadness2021 to 61474 (not case sensitive) or by visiting bethematch.org/matchmadness and Be The Match will mail a cheek swab kit to their home.

It only takes a simple cheek swab to find out if you’re a match for a patient in need.

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