In 2013, Alex was at the University of Maryland’s Terp Thon, a student run organization that supports families battling pediatric illness and injury in the university’s local community, when he swabbed and joined Gift of Life’s donor registry. 

“I didn’t have a particular reason for joining, but it’s the right thing to do,” said Alex. 

Six years later, Alex got his first call from Gift of Life notifying him that he was a potential match for a patient. 

“I got a call that said I may be a potential match back in 2019,” said Alex. “But they never moved to the next step. I was released back into the pool again. Someone else was a better match.” 

Being a potential match for one person is already very rare, so Alex thought “that was it.” However, Alex received one more call. 

“Then in early 2022 I got a call and an email that they had identified someone else that I might be a match for,” Alex said. “So, I went to the hospital on my birthday and got blood tests to see if I was a good match.” 

“It was mine and my girlfriend Stephanie's anniversary – she’s my fiancée now – and we were driving to dinner and I got a call from Jada in Donor Services and they decided that they wanted to move forward with that patient,” said Alex. “I said ‘great, love to hear it, what are the next steps to figuring out who the right person is?’ and they said, ‘No, no, YOU are the right person.’ I was a little taken aback, and she said ‘You are the match’ and from there it moved pretty quickly.” 

Alex’s match was an 8-year-old girl battling Severe Aplastic Anemia. While 90% of donations are peripheral blood stem cells, bone marrow donation is typically done for younger patients, Alex’s recipient included.

Alex went to Hackensack University Medical Center to donate bone marrow. Unlike blood stem cell donation, bone marrow donation does not require Neupogen injections. Collection is an outpatient procedure completed in about two hours while the donor is under general anesthesia, and marrow is collected from the iliac crest, the curved portion at the top of the hip.

Like most people, Alex had some back discomfort after donating, but, with some ice packs and Tylenol, he recovered quickly. Alex would eventually like to meet his recipient. 

“My biggest takeaway from donating is that you can save someone’s life,” he said. “There are people out there who are suffering and you are the only thing separating them from the rest of their life. They need a match, and you’re the match, you are literally unlocking the rest of their life for them. Do the right thing.”

Alex, 30, is a graduate of the University of Maryland and is a Beta Theta Pi fraternity member. He lives in Washington D.C. where he works in public affairs. Outside of work, Alex enjoys skiing, hiking, and photography. 

Alex's swab kit was sponsored by the Hillel International Donor Circle and the In Honor of Wendy Siegel Donor Circle.