When Samantha learned about Gift of Life’s mission to cure blood cancer during her Birthright Israel trip through the Mayanot Institute in 2018, she felt inspired.

“My Birthright tour leader had previously donated to help save a little boy with blood cancer,” she said. “The story was so moving and inspiring, I had to join the registry. Such a small act as donating stem cells can change the lives of so many people.”

Gift of Life was originally founded in 1991 because the diversity of the registry was so low it was incredibly difficult for many patients, including those of Jewish heritage, to find donors. Diversifying the registry remains a key objective for the organization, so that every patient can find a match when needed.

“This is a huge part of why I wanted to join,” said Samantha. “Given the state the world is in right now, we have to support each other.”

After seven years on the registry, Samantha finally got the incredible call that she could help save a man’s life.

“I was working from home that day and I kept getting voicemails from a number in Florida that I honestly thought was a scam,” said Samantha. It wasn’t. “When I listened to the message, I was shocked; it is such a small chance to match anyone, and I hadn’t thought about it in so long. I matched a man in his 60s with leukemia, and my dad is about that age. I couldn’t stop thinking about this person’s family. If it were me, I would be so desperate for someone to help my dad. I could not say ‘no’ to donating.”

Samantha was impressed by how thorough Gift of Life’s Donor Services Coordinators were in answering questions from her and her mother and explaining the entire process.

“The more you learn, the more incredible it is,” said Samantha. “Of all the people in the world, I happen to match with this stranger – I am still so in awe of that, and so grateful that I joined the registry. At first, it sounds daunting to take blood tests and get shots to boost your stem cells, but if you get the chance to save someone’s life, you do it.”

The process can also take several months, both to confirm that someone is the best donor for a particular patient and because the patient needs to reach a specific point in their treatment where they are ready for a stem cell transplant.

“Although I got the call in September, I didn’t actually donate until the next January,” said Samantha. “I had a very detailed physical exam with a local doctor – they test you for everything you can think of, as well as things you’ve never heard of. Gift of Life wants to be certain you are healthy enough to participate.”

As the donation date is about to arrive, stem cell donors also receive shots of filgrastim to help the body produce more stem cells for collection. Since stem cells are produced in the bone marrow, many donors getting filgrastim feel aches in their bones or hips for a couple days right before donating.

“Gift of Life makes this easy as well, a traveling nurse came to my apartment, and when I had to go to out of town for a day, they even arranged for a nurse to do the shot there,” said Samantha. “I found that walking around helped with the achiness, but I only needed to take Tylenol once on the last day.”

The collection center initially scheduled Samantha for a two-day donation, as her recipient needed a large number of stem cells. Every patient is different, and while small children need a limited amount of cells, someone who is tall likely needs a larger donation.

“It turned out that I had produced so many stem cells that I was finished in one day,” said Samantha. “It’s wild to see how the machine works, and the nurses did a great job of explaining what was going on. My older sister came as my donation day companion, and we watched some Netflix together. It went faster than I expected, and although I was pretty tired the next day, I felt better quickly.”

She also found an incredible level of support from her family, friends and workplace.

“Everyone is so excited about this, we’re partnering with Gift of Life to hold a family fundraiser this winter,” said Samantha. “Work was spectacular during the process, I explained everything, and they offered me time off, checked in with me, and everyone wanted to help.” 

After donations are completed, the bags containing the stem cells are packed in special transport coolers and hand-carried by medical couriers to the transplant center, wherever in the world it may be located.

“It was so amazing to see cells literally being taken from my body, put in a cooler, and sent to the patient that night!” said Samantha. “I really do not have the words to explain how much joy and hope it brought me. Yes, the donation took hours, yes, my bones were sore, but I would take this side of the process over what my recipient has been dealing with for months. If I can be even a small part of his healing journey, it was worth it. This is a gratifying and humbling experience.”

Samantha, 27, lives and works in New York City, where she is a Digital Strategy Lead at a multinational technology company.  She is a graduate of the University of Michigan and was a member of Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority as a student. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, cooking and outdoor activities.