Many Gift of Life Marrow Registry donors join the registry through a college recruitment drive, but some of our most enthusiastic actually join in high school through the Dr. Michael Osband Senior Swab Program, founded in 2005 to recruit graduating seniors to join the registry.  Akiva is one such donor. During school in 2018, Akiva was told that he could get one class off if he went to a presentation about the Gift of Life registry. Excited to learn about the organization – and to get a free period – he agreed.

“After they explained what the registry was and why they needed people to join, it was a no-brainer,” said Akiva. “Of course, I signed up.”

Four years later, Akiva got his first of two phone calls from Gift of Life about being a possible match for a patient in need.

“I got a call out of the blue, and I did some testing to see if I was a good match, and then was on standby to see if the patient needed me,” said Akiva. “We waited for about three months and then I was told that the patient was doing better, that I currently wasn’t needed, and I was released back into the donor pool.”

Being called as a match without donating is far from rare. Sometimes the patient has responded to other treatments and no longer needs a transplant, as in Akiva’s case, or sometimes a closer match has been identified.

In 2024 when Akiva got his second match call for a different patient – a man diagnosed with leukemia – he already knew what the process was, and he was just as enthusiastic about saving a life.

“I was super excited to be able to help and looking forward to the opportunity,” he said. “You have conflicting emotions. On the one hand, you don’t want to donate because that means the person has gotten better on their own, but on the other, I was gung-ho to do it if I was needed. I’m more of a gung-ho kind of person. I didn’t feel any trepidation and no nervousness. I was hoping the patient would recover, but worst-case scenario, I was already there to help.”

After telling his family and friends about his match and convincing several of them to join the registry as well, Akiva prepared for the donation. Akiva and his mother traveled to the Adelson Collection Center located in Boca Raton, Fla., with all expenses and arrangements handled by Gift of Life.

“From start to finish everything was a breeze,” said Akiva. “From booking tickets to arranging travel, to the actual day of donation, with the concierge service and the nurses at the collection center, literally every Gift of Life team member I interacted with made it one of the best experiences I have had. I actually went down to South Florida two days after my engagement party!”

Akiva was asked to donate peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC). These cells, found both in the marrow and the circulating blood, produce the many forms of blood and immune system cells. The goal of transplanting cells from a donor to a patient is to replace the patient's diseased cells with a healthy new system. After being transplanted to the patient via a transfusion, the blood stem cells naturally find their way into the patient's bones and begin producing healthy bone marrow, blood, and immune cells.

For Akiva, the PBSC donation was fairly easy.

“I slept through most of it,” said Akiva. “The nurses and phlebotomists were fantastic. They brought me snacks and drinks, and they accommodated my dietary restrictions and ordered me lunch. The recovery was quick and straightforward, and I was even able to visit friends who lived in Florida while I was there. I was just sore and sleepy for a day. but was right back to 100% the next day. They called me a week afterward to make sure everything was going accordingly, and that there weren’t any complications.”

Having donated, Akiva feels like he played a big part in helping his patient.

“I feel like I was able to help solve that puzzle for someone in need,” Akiva said. “Stepping back and looking at the whole process, it really was a big event. Being a small piece in the puzzle to hopefully help this person on their road to recovery was kind of an out-of-body experience. It was surreal, being given the opportunity to be a lifesaver, but I feel a lot of joy that I could do this for someone.”

Akiva urges others to join the registry.

“At the end of the day I’m just a regular kid from New York,” he said. “I think the most important thing to understand about the process is to recognize what you’re doing for another human being. Where you would be if you were in their position if you needed that kind of help? Being able to help someone like that is really special. It may seem scary, but it’s not. If you allow it to be, it can be an incredible and fun experience.”

Akiva, 23, is now married to his wife, Ariella. They live in Lawrence, N.Y. where he manages a home appliances installation company. In his free time, he enjoys spending time outdoors hiking and skiing.