On July 24th, the Brazilian athlete Marcus D’Almeida carried the Olympic torch in São Paulo, wearing the Brazilian REDOME and World Marrow Donor Day symbols on his wristband. REDOME’s campaign, with the motto “update your contact information, you can save a life anywhere in the world”, celebrates the WMDD on September 17th. To keep national and international donors contact information updated and help anyone in need of bone marrow donation is the goal of the Brazilian campaign.
The archer, who competes in Recurve Bow, is one of the promising medalists for Brazil in Rio 2016 Olympic Games. During the torch relay Marcus wore a wristband with WMDD’s symbol, which is recognized by all bone marrow donors registries in the world. “Carrying the Olympic torch is a unique moment for any athlete’s career. If I had the opportunity to carry the Olympic flame, it was my duty to bring together a noble cause that saves lives worldwide”, says the athlete.
Last year, Brazil was the only Latin American country to celebrate WMDD. In 2016, REDOME’s proposal is to conduct awareness campaigns during the Olympic and Paralympic Games period to increase the number of updated contact information on REDOME’s website, as well as to encourage social engagement, not only for donors but also for multipliers who raise awareness on bone marrow donation and donor’s responsibility to update their contact information.
