Be The Match
As many FarmHouse men may attest, dairymen work tireless hours. The demands of a dairy dictate not venturing far from a milking operation for long and time away from home is infrequent and vacations are a rarity. While education was important, it was second to hard work, thus convincing his parents to let him attend college was a tall task for Bob Graves.
“Bob was always politicking for some cause,” says Sherry, Bob's wife. “His first successful effort was perhaps lobbying his parents to allow him to attend Colorado State. They agreed so long as he promised to still help on the farm.” He did so, excelled as a student and joined the local chapter of FarmHouse Fraternity, initiating in 1953. He was admitted early to the School of Veterinary Medicine and graduated in 1956.
When Bob and Sherry's 10-year-old daughter, Laura, was diagnosed with leukemia, Bob and Sherry were ready to do anything they could to save her. Desperate to save her life they turned to alternative treatment options and agreed to try the first ever bone marrow transplant from an unrelated donor.
Laura received her transplant in 1979. And it worked. The success of the treatment inspired the Graves to give other families the same hope for a cure. Thanks to the Graves family, other patient families, doctors, congressional support and funding from the U.S. Navy, a national registry of volunteers willing to donate bone marrow was born.
Today, Be The Match has facilitated more than 74,000 marrow and cord blood transplants and nearly 6,400 transplants a year to give patients hope for a future.
As the recognized leader in unrelated marrow transplantation, Be The Match continues to develop services and interactive technologies used by transplant experts around the world to reach more patients.
Be The Match also continues to lead the way in developing new cellular therapies, in advancing services to speed the transplant process and improving treatments for post-transplant complications. They invest in dedicated researchers whose countless hours in the lab and caring for patients have helped more patients than ever before receive a transplant.
Because of the dedication of one FarmHouse man and his family, and the dedication of FarmHouse to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society; FarmHouse is proud to lend our volunteer and philanthropic support behind Be The Match as well.
