When he registered with Gift of Life in February 2008, Mark, a resident of Morganville, New Jersey, was hoping to be a match for a young boy in his town who was in need of a life-saving transplant. So he went and got his cheek swabbed at a drive hosted by the Solomon Schechter Day School of Monmouth County to see if he could help. He wasn’t the only one: 529 other people got swabbed at that drive, which has subsequently resulted in two transplants to date.

Soon after the drive, Mark found out that he was not a match for the boy, and while he was disappointed, he was still pleased that he joined the registry. Mark thought he would probably never get the call for anyone else, but sure enough, the phone rang two years later. It was Ana, a coordinator from Gift of Life, and she had special news to share. “When I got the first phone call from Gift of Life, I was really excited and wanted to be able to help,” Mark recalled, “I was ready to donate!”

Mark is married with two sons, ages nine and 13, respectively. They were proud of what their father was about to do, and could relate to the recipient, who was around their same age – a 12 year old boy. It also meant a lot to Mark, because the boy for whom he was about to donate was the very same age as the little boy for whom he had originally joined the registry!

So, on a beautiful spring morning just a few weeks ago, Mark arrived at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York City to donate his bone marrow. Approximately 20 percent of donors are asked to undergo this procedure, while the other 80 percent are asked to donate blood stem cells. When donors are called for children, often times the request is for this type of procedure. “My coordinator from Gift of Life made everything so easy for me,” he recalled. A few hours later, Mark was on his way back home. “I would like to meet my recipient someday. I think about him a lot, and I hope he is doing well,” he said.

Thankfully, the little boy for whom Mark joined the registry did eventually receive a transplant, and he is doing well. Ironically, his name is also Marc (with a “c”), and is the very same age as the boy for whom Mark (with a “k”) had donated! Even more coincidental, Marc is devoting his Bar Mitzvah project to Gift of Life. He is planning to work with a film maker to create a documentary about the journey to overcome his illness and share what it meant to find the donor who saved his life. Marc hopes that his documentary will help educate and provide guidance to other patients in similar circumstances.

Upon learning about the matches made as a result of the drives, Marc’s father Barry commented “There is no way to adequately describe the feeling. I cannot help but think we are all connected and that there was a reason why these drives were held.” He added, “I consider each person who swabbed their cheek to be tested a true blessing.”

There were many blessings that came out of this very special story. Marc (the recipient) now has a bright and promising future ahead of him. Mark (the donor), was given the opportunity to save a life. And for a 12-year-old boy somewhere in the world, there is now hope for renewed health, and it all started with a cheek swab.