Sunshine was a freshman at the University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg when she decided to attend the Welcome Week Fair.

“I was just aimlessly wandering through each tent and came across a Gift of Life registry drive being held by Project Life Movement,” said Sunshine. “It felt like a simple, in-the-moment decision, I remember thinking, ‘Why not?’ At the time, it didn’t seem like swabbing would change my life or anyone else’s.”

Looking back on her decision, she thinks joining the registry revealed something to her.

“It fit into a pattern I hadn’t noticed before,” said Sunshine. “My hair grows very fast, so every 2-3 years I donate six or 10 inches to Wigs for Kids. It’s something small I can do with what I already have, and joining the registry felt similar. If I have the ability to help someone, why wouldn’t I?”

A little over two years later, Sunshine learned she had matched with a patient in need, a woman in her 30s diagnosed with leukemia. Because the genetic factors used to determine tissue type matches are inherited and population-specific, Sunshine's recipient may also have Asian ancestry.

“I received a text, but it caught me off guard, it came from the same number as the text thanking me for swabbing and confirming my entry into the registry – I had kept the text and the old message was sitting right on top of the new one,” said Sunshine. “I had just gotten out of class, and I responded immediately. It honestly blew my mind that something I’d nearly forgotten about came back into my life with the potential to save someone else’s.”

Sunshine immediately told her best friend, professors and classmates that she would be donating, and found them to be very supportive.

“We were actually learning about cancer and stem cell transplants in my biology class,” she said. “It made the experience feel connected to what I was studying, and everyone was excited for me to be a part of something so meaningful.”

Her challenge in donating turned out to be her family’s deep concern for her health, as well as cultural expectations.

“They were scared something might happen to me, and their concern came from love,” said Sunshine. “But there was also a deeper layer to it. In many Asian communities, there’s a belief that the body should stay whole after death. The idea of your organs or stem cells being somewhere else in the world can feel spiritually unsettling, like it might disturb your soul’s peace. That belief clashed with what I was trying to do, and it created some tension at home for a while.”

Sunshine decided that giving someone their best chance to survive cancer took precedence.

“I went through with the donation because I knew I could help someone,” she said. “It’s important to talk about how hard that decision can be, especially for people of color navigating family and cultural expectations. I hope, by sharing this, I can help others feel a little less alone in choosing compassion, even when it’s complicated.”

Stem cell donors go through a donation preparation process by receiving injections of filgrastim for four days before cell collection. Filgrastim helps the bone marrow create more stem cells, although some donors can feel temporary side effects, such as headache, back ache, or bone aches. Sunshine found a way to make unique use of this preparation process.

“I’m such a science nerd that I did a whole project about filgrastim for one of my classes,” she said. “Being my own study subject made the experience even more fascinating.”

Sunshine donated at Gift of Life’s beautiful in-house collection center in Boca Raton, Fla. There is no cost for donors, so travel, accommodations, transportation, and other costs are paid for by the organization.

“The actual donation was wild in the best way,” said Sunshine. “My blood was being filtered through the apheresis machine and separated for the stem cells. It was so surreal and beautiful to witness. I was pretty sleepy the whole time, but an unexpected perk was that the food was really good.”

After her collection was finished, Sunshine took advantage of being in South Florida and visited the beach.

“Just being there resting by the ocean, I felt this deep sense of peace,” she said. “I felt like what I had done really mattered. It wasn’t flashy or dramatic, but it was real. That meant everything to me. I felt totally fine the next day, like nothing had even happened, which surprised me.”

Coming home, Sunshine saw those who had been concerned for her shift their perception about donating.

“It was a gentle ‘See? I’m fine’ moment, and helped ease some of the fear and tension my family had experienced before I donated,” said Sunshine. “Some of my friends were surprised I went through with it, and it’s been interesting to see their perspective shift once they realize what the process actually looks like. In our community, donation feels scary because we don’t hear stories like this, so I hope my experience makes it feel a little more real and a little less intimidating.”

Sunshine hopes her story will help others of Asian ancestry decide to join the registry and step up to donate if they are ever a match for a patient.

“I’ve seen firsthand how underrepresented Asian people are in the donor registries,” she said. “It’s heartbreaking to think someone could be fighting for their life and not find a match – not because the match doesn’t exist but because someone never joined the registry. Many of us grew up hearing cultural fears or taboos about donating, but we have the power to reshape that narrative. You don’t have to give up your values to say yes to helping someone; you just have to be open to learning and deciding for yourself what kind of impact you want to make. Saying ‘maybe I can help’ is sometimes all it takes to save a life.”

Sunshine, 21, is majoring in Dental Hygiene at the Greenville Technical College, and is a resident of Spartanburg, S.C.  She describes herself as a “big music person” and is a singer and musician who takes joy in creating. When feeling adventurous, she takes rides on her Onewheel electric skateboard.