SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- More than 12,000 people registered with Be the Match to donate bone marrow just two weeks after "Good Morning America" anchor Robin Roberts announced she was being treated for MDS, a rare blood disease that requires a bone marrow transplant. According to Be the Match, "a significant number of those requests referenced Robin Roberts." Jeffrey Chell, the organization's chief executive, praised Roberts for publicly revealing her crisis to a broad television audience, a decision he described as a "signal of hope." Because of the spike in new registrants -- a 33-percent increase in donors for the month -- Be the Match estimates that 50 to 70 additional lives may be saved this year as a direct result of Roberts calling attention to the issue. Dr. Tremaine Weldowhether, professor of media studies at San Narciso College, was elated by the news. Not because he cares about MDS or Robin Roberts in any meaningful way, but because the situation illustrates a fundamental truth in his area of research: without celebrities to convey important news, embrace causes, or spread awareness of horrible ailments, the public would never understand or involve themselves in those issues.