When Eliott joined Gift of Life’s registry at his local temple in 2013, he never expected that more than 10 years later, he would actually be donating. Although he was home in Southern California on summer break when he swabbed at a local drive, at that time he was a student at Vanderbilt University, where he was a brother in the Zeta Beta Tau (ZBT) fraternity.

“I joined because it is an obvious good thing to do,” he said. “The registry is your chance to help someone in need, even save their life.”

But when he was finally called upon to donate in early 2024, more than ten years later, he had nearly forgotten about Gift of Life.

“I got a random phone call at home, and at first couldn’t even remember swabbing because it was so long ago,” said Eliott. “Once I remembered, I was very excited and surprised to find out I was a match. My family members were equally excited to hear the news.”

The stranger he had the chance to help is a man in his mid-40s diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a form of cancer that can invade the lymph system, spleen, liver, bone marrow and other organs. Treatment via a blood stem cell transplant is usually given when other attempts to fight the cancer have not worked well for the patient.

Eliott traveled from Los Angeles to Boca Raton, Fla. to donate at Gift of Life’s state-of-the-art Adelson Collection Center, where donors get a private suite, gourmet lunches, and have a variety of entertainment options on offer to make their donation experience an excellent one. 

“Donation was a breeze,” said Eliott. “The team at Gift of Life took exceptional care of me and made me feel very welcome. Everyone was attentive and went out of their way to make sure I was comfortable. I’m very happy for the opportunity and I hope it makes a difference for the recipient.”

Transplants are based on tissue type matches that are inherited from our ancestors, so it is more likely to match someone with the same genetic heritage. Eliott is of Sephardic Jewish ancestry and his family is originally from Iran, so it is highly likely that his recipient is also someone with Sephardic Jewish heritage.

Because the need to find matches for people from every type of ancestry and background is urgent, it’s important that more people join the registry to increase the chances of everyone being able to find a donor.

“If I can match someone, I hope that anyone can find a match,” said Eliott. “I just encourage everyone to swab their cheek and join the registry.”

Eliott, 30, is an attorney living in Los Angeles, Calif., and is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, where he was a brother in the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity. He enjoys photography, travel, and hanging out with his friends.