UNC report: Safety a good Samaritan

The Greeley Tribune

Published August 15, 2008 at 11:47 p.m.

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GREELEY - Forget about game-saving plays. Northern Colorado safety Mike Van Portfliet has made a lifesaving one. Earlier this year, he donated bone marrow to an unidentified 25-year-old woman in need of a lifesaving transplant.

For his unselfish act, the Allstate insurance company and the American Football Coaches Association has made Van Portfliet one of 71 finalists for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, which honors college football players whose contributions to charitable organizations and community service stand out.

It all started as part of the Bears' annual blood drive in honor of former UNC football player Sam Safken, who died in September 2006 from leukemia. As part of the drive, the entire team registered with the National Marrow Donor Program.

Van Portfliet got a call from Bonfils Blood Center in Denver earlier this year and was told he was a possible match for an older male, but he wasn't compatible. Two months later, he got called for a blood test and was a perfect match for the young woman. The chances were 1-in-2 million he would be a match.

"It's special. It's surreal," Van Portfliet said. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Never would I ever think I would be giving someone their life. Without this transplant, this girl would be gone in a year."

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