We already knew that Jason Momoa , alongside his many other wonderful traits, is a very charitable man. He feels passionate about a lot of causes and is never afraid to share use his platform to share that passion.
He showed this yet again by sharing his visit to an event hosted by Be The Match, an organization dedicated to helping find bone marrow transplants for those with blood cancer.
RELATED STORIES
Jason Momoa is a charitable king.
He has a history of being vocal about causes he cares about. Just the other month, he cut his luscious locks in order to bring awareness to the dangers of single-use plastics after he was named a United Nations Environment Program Advocate for Life Below Water back in June.
Now, he’s championed a new cause.
Bone marrow donation.
As chronicled in a very sweet video he’s posted to his Instagram, Momoa visited a bone marrow registry drive at Brigham Young University-Hawaii recently, riding in on his motorcycle to cheering fans.
The event was hosted by Be The Match.
They’re an organization that helps patients suffering from blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma find bone marrow donor matches and get them the treatment they need.
They currently host “the most diverse marrow registry in the world” according to their website.
Getting a big name like Momoa there garnered them a huge boost in attention.
While visiting, he also met some of the kids who are currently awaiting transplants, such as six-year-old Rhyder Lopez and his brother, nine-year-old Rhaiden.
They told Momoa how they were both diagnosed with a potentially fatal genetic disease called Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH).
Rhaiden got a donor when he was just two years old.
He had his marrow transplant done and was completely cured. Rhyder is still awaiting a marrow match.
Rhyder is rather healthy, but his treatment is rigorous, as he needs seven different medications taken twice daily and regular infusions via a port in his chest.
Momoa was clearly touched by their stories, and the stories of the other children.
His video includes him giving a speech while at the event in which he gets very real.
“I get emotional when I think about it. If it’s my kids or your kids…” he said.
“It doesn’t take much.”
“You just got to swab a cheek, and you can save some lives,” he continued, referring to just how easy it is to register yourself as a bone marrow donor.
“From the bottom of my heart, thank you for coming. I love you, Aloha!”
This wasn’t the first time Momoa has spoken about Be The Match.
Momoa learned about the organization from his friend Travis Snyder, whom he’s known for over six years.
Snyder is currently battling leukemia for the third time, and in the wake of his diagnosis, taught Momoa about the work Be The Match was doing.
They both spoke out earlier this year to drive more donors to the registry.
Snyder described how he and Momoa met after his first bout with cancer while talking to People , saying, “I think in the aftermath of treatment I was very focused on living every day with purpose and my heart was open and Jason wasn’t quite as busy then and he lives with such a big giving heart and Aloha, we just connected instantly.”
Hopefully Momoa’s activism work and love for the cause will have tons more people signing up to become a donor! To learn more, please do check out Be The Change.
h/t: People
