Welcome to my donor circle!

In 2018, I was in Jerusalem, Israel and joined the Gift of Life Marrow Registry with a cheek swab. I joined not thinking that I would ever be called, but that one day maybe I would save someone's life.

Fast forward to July 2022 and I was on the Wildwood Beach in New Jersey when I received a call from a Boca Raton number.  I said out loud, “I think this is the Gift of Life” and sure enough it was.  They were calling me to tell me I was a match to donate White Blood Cells for medical research to help develop new cures. I honestly couldn't believe it, but without much thought I said I absolutely want to do this.

After a physical and some blood draws, I was off to Florida to donate. Gift of Life was amazing through the entire process, from paying for my travel, hotel, and transportation to when I arrived at the facility – they treated me like a hero. The donation was a very easy process and the team was incredible. I really felt the impact of what I was doing.  

Donating has truly changed me. I went on to follow my dreams of  becoming a realtor and decided I wanted to host my own donor recruitment drive. The impact of knowing you helped saved someone's life – or many lives through a new cellular therapy – is immeasurable.  I knew I wanted to spread awareness about this cause, host a drive, and get more potential donors into the registry.

This event was more than I could have ever imagined,  with 37 possible new donors added to the registry and $2,780 raised for the mission. I hope that one day maybe one of you from my donor circle will get to experience what I did, and the impact of being a life-saving donor will be shared even further.