McCartney, a two-year starter and grandson of former Colorado coach Bill McCartney, will miss two practices — Wednesday and Friday this week — as a result of being a donor match as part of the “Be The Match” program that CU head coach Mike MacIntyre started when he arrived to Boulder three years ago.
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MacIntyre said every year about 350-450 on Colorado’s campus sign up for the program.
“We’ve had four young people — one coach’s wife, two other players and now Derek — who have been matches and have been able to save a life,” MacIntyre said.
To prepare to donate peripheral blood stem cells, McCartney has had several recent doctor’s appointments and been on platelet-strengthening medication.
“It’s a testimony to the type of person he is,” MacIntyre said. “Any time you’ve got a chance to save somebody’s life, it’s really neat. I told (the team) about it … and they gave him a standing ovation.”
McCartney, a rising redshirt junior, was second on CU’s team with five sacks in 2015 and had 70 tackles.
For more information on “Be The Match” or to become a bone marrow donor, click here.
