ABC News Good Morning America Co-Anchor Robin Roberts has marked 10 years of being back at GMA following a lifesaving bone marrow transplant. GMA will celebrate Roberts’ 10-year anniversary on Tuesday, February 21.
What's Happening:
- ABC News’ Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts will mark 10 years back at the GMA anchor desk following a successful bone marrow transplant from her sister, Sally-Ann, in 2012.
- Roberts was away from GMA for 174 days after her diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a rare blood disorder that affects the bone marrow. She returned in February 2013.
- The bone marrow registry drive will culminate on Good Morning America (7:00-9:00 a.m. EST) on Tuesday, Feb. 21, with live shots and stories from select ABC Owned Television Stations, ABC affiliates and more.
Teaming Up with Be The Match:
- To celebrate 10 years since Roberts’ return to the morning newscast and raise awareness of the bone marrow registry, GMA, ABC Owned Television Stations and some ABC affiliates are teaming up with Be The Match, a nonprofit organization operated by the National Marrow Donor Program, which will host #GMAswab2save bone marrow registry drives across the country beginning Wednesday, Feb. 15.
- GMA has partnered with Be The Match since September 2022, regularly airing the series One Match, Second Chance to raise awareness about joining the bone marrow donation registry, which entails swabbing the inner cheek of a potential donor to be matched with patients searching for a donor now or in the future.
- Once someone is identified as a match, the process of donating has become simpler over the past decade, with 90% of donations collected via a non-surgical procedure that resembles donating plasma or platelets. Individuals between 18-40 years old can join the Be The Match Registry at https://my.bethematch.org/GMA.
- The drives will bring together people inspired by Roberts’ message in ABC’s eight Owned Television markets and more.
- The local stations will cover the community drives, profile bone marrow donors and recipients, and showcase developments in bone marrow transplant science in the lead-up to Roberts’ anniversary.
What They're Saying:
- “When I was diagnosed with cancer, I took my mom’s advice and decided to ‘make my mess my message,’” said Roberts. “Ten years after my return to GMA, I’m focused on sharing my story, and others like it, to give our viewers hope and, so, my message today is simple: join the bone marrow registry. It only takes a simple cheek swab, and you could save someone’s life.”