Sammantha, known to all as Sammi, feels like she got something extra special from her Birthright Israel trip – the chance to save a woman’s life. 

She was in Jerusalem in 2018, nearing the end of her 10-day tour of Israel, when a Gift of Life representative came in to speak to her group. 

“When you hear this presentation from an organization that is trying to do so much good, there’s no harm in signing up, it’s the right thing to do,” said Sammi. Like most donors, she knew from the presentation that the odds of being someone’s match are very low, so she never expected it to happen. 

“When I got the call from my Donor Services Coordinator that I was a preliminary match, I was driving home from visiting my boyfriend, Chase, who is in the military stationed in Florida,” said Sammi. “I called him and said, ‘I just got this call and I’m a match for a woman in her 20s with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma’, and he told me his aunt had fought blood cancer and had a peripheral blood stem cell transplant (PBSC) a few years earlier.” 

But that wasn’t the only connection, the more people Sammi talked to, the more she realized how much blood cancer had affected the people around her, including her own physician, who donated stem cells through Gift of Life several years ago. 

“When I went to do confirmatory typing [a test to check that the donor is the best match for the patient], the phlebotomist said he’d had cancer a few years earlier and survived thanks to a PBSC transplant from his sister,” she said. “Now that I’ve donated stem cells, I’ve met people and heard of other friends and acquaintances who have been touched by blood cancer, as well.” 

Donating was no risk to me and even if I never meet her, I contributed to the potential of making someone’s life better. To me, this is a no-brainer, get swabbed and join the registry.

Her family and Chase were all supportive of her decision to donate, and since she works from home for a consulting firm and has a flexible schedule, she had no trouble getting time off to come to Florida to donate at the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Gift of Life-Be The Match Collection Center, at Gift of Life’s headquarters in Boca Raton. 

“Chase came with me as my donation companion, and my coordinator was able to arrange his flights so that he didn’t have to use so many days of his leave,” said Sammi. “My mom is from North Miami Beach, so I got to see some family while I was there.” There is no cost to donors for coming to Florida to donate at Gift of Life, and the organization arranges for flights, ground transportation, and accommodations, as well as providing a meal stipend. 

“The hotel was incredible, we had such a good time, and enjoyed relaxing at the pool and the beach,” said Sammi. “That quiet time helped me put my mind in the right space before the donation. My match is a female in her late 20s, so close to my age, and I would have been happy to go to a gray, windowless, four-by-four room to help her, but having such a great experience and having everyone really want to take care of me while I was there made it extra special.”

Sammi and Chase, who don’t get much time together because of his military career, spent donation day just talking to each other and chatting with the collection center nurses. 

“The next day I was a little tired, but after that I was back to normal,” said Sammi. 

“I have two younger sisters, and just a few days after I donated they were on their Birthright Israel trip together, and both swabbed their cheeks and signed up for the registry,” Sammi added. “They were so proud to share with their group that their sister had just donated with Gift of Life a few days ago.”  

Sammi has been thinking a lot about her recipient and hoping for the best possible outcome for her. 

“I can’t imagine being in her situation, trying treatments and having them not work, then having to search on a registry for a stranger and hope you have a match, and they are willing and able to donate,” said Sammi. “It was no risk to me and even if I never meet her, I contributed to the potential of making someone’s life better. To me, this is a no-brainer, get swabbed and join the registry.” 

Sammi, 24, is an epidemiologist from Alpharetta, Ga., and works at a consulting firm that currently partners with the Centers for Disease Control. She’s been studying the COVID virus since it began. She is a graduate of the University of Georgia, and in her free time enjoys hiking and outdoor activities that will help wear out her dog who “goes 100 miles per hour!”