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EDINBURG, Texas – The University of Texas-Pan American baseball team announced Tuesday that they are trying to save the life of five year old Nolan Narajno of Brownsville by hosting a Bone Marrow Drive on Wednesday, September 12 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the UTPA Library.
 
The drive will be setup in the southwest corner of the lobby.

Nolan has MDS (pre-leukemia) and the need for a Bone Marrow transplant is urgent.

The Broncs are asking for potential donors to come and sign up for the Be the Match registry. The staff from Be the Match will swab the inside of the cheek of every potential donor to determine if they are a match. On average, only one in every 540 members of the Be the Match Registry in the United States will be called on to donate.

Donors ages 18-44 are 10 times more likely to be called upon to donate. Additionally, ethnicity plays an important role in bone marrow match. Nolan is Hispanic and Caucasian.

In order to join the registry, potential donors must be between the ages of 18 and 60, willing to donate to any patient in need, and meet the health guidelines.

Nolan is the same child who threw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Broncs baseball game on May 12 while a blood drive was held in his honor. Prior to his recent contraction of MDS, Nolan had been diagnosed with aplastic anemia.

“We would like to appeal to all the residents of the Valley and to all past, present, and future Broncs to please come out and support this potentially life saving endeavor,” Broncs head coach Manny Mantrana said. “This little boy is in desperate need of our help. What better way of giving back to our community than by doing everything in our power to try and save the life of this five year old boy. I implore everyone that reads this message to please come out and support Nolan and his family.”
 
The University of Texas-Pan American Department of Intercollegiate Athletics competes at the NCAA Division I level. UTPA, formerly known as Pan American College and Pan American University, is a part of the University of Texas System of Schools. The Broncs compete in 14 varsity sports: men's and women's basketball, golf, tennis, track and field, and cross country, along with women's volleyball and men's baseball. The Broncs have won six team national championships, including the 1963 NAIA Championship in men's basketball and every NAIA Championship in men's tennis from 1961 through 1965. The Broncs also have also won 10 individual national championships, all in men's tennis, with six NAIA doubles championships and four NAIA singles championships. UTPA has been a member of the all-sports division of the Great West Conference since 2009-10.