CA man on worldwide mission to deliver bone marrow after stranger’s donation saved daughter
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL) — From Iowa to Austria, Scott MacGregor’s world travels can’t stop, even during a pandemic.
“Cancers and blood disorders, they do not take a holiday for COVID,” MacGregor said.
As a volunteer courier for Be the Match, he makes life-saving bone marrow deliveries to patients who need a transplant.
It’s a mission MacGregor says is deeply personal.
His own daughter, Taryn, was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia at just 7 years old, causing her to need a bone marrow transplant.
“As a father, the immediate thing is you wish you could trade places with your little girl. You don’t want her to have to go down that road at all,” MacGregor told NewsNation affiliate KTXL.
They first looked to family members, but none were a match.
It was ultimately a stranger’s donation that saved her.
“Taryn is now completely cured of that illness. I just feel like everyday is a gift,” MacGregor explained.
A gift that he wants to share with other families, but one the pandemic has made difficult.
“My family got a little concerned and rightfully so, saying, ‘Hey, if you’re going to be flying all over the country and you’re going to be going into hospitals and coming out, there’s a chance that you could unintentionally get somebody sick at home,’” MacGregor said.
He’s been living out of a camper since April to keep his family safe.
While he can’t be close to his family this Christmas, although they visited outside from a distance, it’s a sacrifice he’s more than willing to make to give others a chance to celebrate together for years to come.
“I’ve been given that gift with my daughter. It’s my turn to try to play a small part in trying to forward that gift to the next patient and family,” he said.
MacGregor says he’s leaving to make another delivery just two days from now.
He urges everyone to sign up on the Be The Match Registry to see if they could potentially give a life-saving bone marrow donation.
Anyone ages 18-44 years old can sign up to join the registry by texting BeLikeScott to 61474 or by clicking here.
