We’ve very sad to report that long-time member of our community, Martin Lintag, passed away on Sunday April 21 from his battle with two rare forms of leukaemia. Marty played on Black Huck Down and The Dolphins.
On Saturday, April 27 at our Ultimate Day Captain's Meeting, we held a tribute to Marty during a period of silence while we watched the following slide show that included comments from his teammates and photos of Marty.
Tribute to Marty
A Request from Marty’s Team
We asked Marty’s teammates how we can support them. They asked that we encourage members to become stem cell donors in hopes that we can still save someone else’s life.
One of the big challenges for Marty was that because he was ethnically Filipino, his chances of finding a match were slim. The majority of the stem cell database is of Caucasian descent so this is big problem for many people of colour. No matter your ethnicity, you could be a donor to save someone's life, and it's a straightforward process.
Here’s how to become a stem cell donor:
- Be 17-35 years old (in Canada)
- Go to blood.ca
- Register to be a donor
- Receive your swab kit in the mail and send it back
Another way to support is to make a financial donation to the Canadian Blood Services:
Until May 31, the VUL will match all donations up to $500. To have your donation matched, go to blood.ca to make a donation and forward your receipt to donations@vul.ca.
UPDATE (June 2019) - We received $640 in donations from VUL members and have donated our matching amount of $500, for a total donation of $1140.
We extend our deepest condolences to Marty’s family, friends and teammates. It’s heartbreaking to lose Marty in our community, especially at such a young age.