Although Cole knew about the stem cell and marrow donor registry, for several years he kept missing the opportunity to sign up. His chance finally came when he was visiting Israel and Gift of Life offered everyone in his tour group a swab kit during a presentation.

“I was on Birthright during the winter session in Jerusalem,” said Cole. “It was still Hanukkah, and it was also New Year’s Day 2017 at the same time, so joining the registry was like a gift for someone else, as well as a Happy New Year’s for me.” 

Cole was contacted as a possible match in 2022, but he did not get to donate that first time. For some patients, several potential donors may be tested to see which is the best possibility for helping the recipient, so it’s likely a closer one was found. But that wasn’t Cole’s last call from Gift of Life.

“I was hanging out at home when I got the second call,” said Cole. “I still had the number saved in my phone, and I thought it must just be a follow-up call, but it was a new request, and I was so excited. Service to others is always important to me, and this is especially exciting – doing something for another person that no one else can do. It feels very special.” 

Cole matched a woman in her 50s diagnosed with leukemia, and his donation was scheduled during the winter months at Gift of Life’s Adelson Collection Center in balmy Boca Raton, Fla.

My recipient will never be alone because I was able to offer them something no one else could. I literally shared part of my body to help their body.

“When I left Minnesota, it was 10 degrees below zero – I was happy to get to Florida and warm up,” said Cole. “Most of my work as a SNAP-education teacher was shifted to other people for a couple days, and my supervisor told me not to worry about the time off. I don’t think they even used any of my vacation days while I was gone.”

Gift of Life arranged for Cole’s travel, transportation, and accommodations at a beachside resort, and donors are encouraged to bring a companion with them, so he invited his girlfriend Caitlin to join him.

“She is a Ph.D. in animal science who works in healthcare and was excited to talk to the collection center staff about the equipment and the immune system; she had a blast,” said Cole. “I had a very easy donation; it was seamless,  fast and felt cozy. I was hanging out and chatting, played some games – I had brought my Steam deck gaming console with me – and then suddenly I was done. It was uneventful.”

But saying it was an “uneventful” visit doesn’t tell the whole story. Preparing for the donation gave Cole the quiet time he needed to make a major decision.   

“The woman who represents my city district had to resign earlier this year, and since I’m very involved in the community, people reached out to ask if I was planning to run,” he said. “I wanted time to think about it, and going to Florida for a few days was exactly the respite and good feelings I needed. I made the choice to do it and began to prepare for the most challenging six months of my life.”

Cole even got recognition on his way home with Caitlin.

“Our flight home was on Delta, and I was wearing my I am a Gift of Life donor shirt,” said Cole. “The air steward asked if I had just donated and told me her sister was saved by a marrow transplant. She offered to give me Delta’s “Saved someone on a flight” credit to my flight miles. Then she came back and said, ‘We also fly this jet to Paris, so we have some special treats on board. Here are some of the good chocolates.’ We really got incredible treatment the entire time – the hotel, the beach, everything about donating was made easy, I felt like I was the one who got the gift.”

Cole is also mindful that there is another person at the other end of his donation, someone who now has hope of recovery.

“I was so excited to write them the anonymous letter,” said Cole. “My recipient will never be alone because I was able to offer them something no one else could. I literally shared part of my body to help their body. It’s better than miraculous, we can do this all the time – we just need more people to sign up.”

Cole, a resident of St. Paul, has a daughter and is running for city council. He is a graduate of Hamline University in political science and has a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Minnesota. He is a member of Theta Chi fraternity. In his free time, Cole is not only running for office, but he also runs about 10 miles a week, takes his daughter camping and likes to spend plenty of time outdoors.