The Decision to Donate: Saving a Patient’s Life for the First Time

It takes less than five minutes to swab the inside of your cheek and join a bone marrow donor registry — a short process that can save a life.

During my first year of medical school one of my classmates suggested hosting a Gift of Life drive as part of our Oncology Interest Group. I was only vaguely familiar with the organization’s mission and lacked a comprehensive understanding of the bone marrow donation process. We worked with Gift of Life to procure the necessary supplies to host the drive, where we’d swab the inside of people’s cheeks, add them to the bone marrow registry, and potentially help those in need of donation. In our medical school’s atrium, we guided classmates through the swabbing and registration process, each swab representing a potential match — a lifeline for someone in need.

I decided to join the registry myself, motivated by the hope of making a meaningful impact on someone’s life. I wondered if my swab would ever truly lead to a successful match, especially given comments from long-time registrants who had never been called. I never expected the day would actually come when I would be called upon to do so.

A year-and-a-half later while balancing my third-year clinical clerkships, I was informed that I was a stem cell match for a leukemia patient. I was excited and honored. Thankfully, my medical school’s administration was extremely supportive and flexible, allowing me to manage my rotation requirements while completing the process.

As donation day approached, I experienced a mix of emotions — excitement, nervousness, and a profound sense of purpose. For the first time in a while, I was playing the role of a patient. Alongside the scheduled physical exams and lab draws, the process included granulocyte colony-stimulating factor injections to boost stem cell production. I spent hours analyzing literature on allogenic stem cell donation, learning more about the process’s risks, particularly for the recipient undergoing aggressive immunosuppressive therapy. This research helped put my challenges, including some bone pain from the injections, into perspective. Two days before the donation, Gift of Life arranged travel for me to their headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida, in preparation for the donation.

When the day finally arrived, I was joined by my mother, and spent most of the ride to the facility reflecting on the meaning of the experience. Knowing the potential impact on the patient made it all worthwhile. After all, it was initially my grandfather’s remarkable battle with cancer — which culminated in him entering remission for stage IV melanoma with help from an oncologist recommending an off-label chemotherapy study — that inspired me to pursue a career in medicine. When I made the decision to pursue this career path, I, too, aimed to forge deep connections with my patients and leave a lasting impression like my grandfather’s oncologist did with our family.

Soon after checking in at the Gift of Life headquarters, I found myself hooked up to multiple IVs and the apheresis machine (a process in which a person’s blood is filtered through a machine that separates out stem cells and returns the remaining blood back into circulation). The donation itself took approximately seven hours, but the day seemed to fly by thanks to the exceptional support from the organization’s staff. They provided comfortable pillows and blankets, activities to pass the time, and plenty of food throughout the day. Watching the bag of stem cells grow and begin their journey, I felt a surge of pride and accomplishment. After years of working toward a career of saving lives, this was one of the first moments I felt I had achieved that goal.

This experience has deeply reinforced my commitment to a career in medicine. The lessons in empathy, compassion, and the power of human connection have helped shape me into the physician I aspire to be. For those considering joining the donor registry, I encourage you to take the leap. The chance to save a life is worth every challenge. As I begin my final year of medical school, I look forward to continuing to make a difference — one patient, one life at a time.

I want to express my gratitude to my classmate Ryan for helping to organize the initial registry drive, my representative Andrea at the Gift of Life for her support through the donation process, and the administration at the University of Florida for their flexibility in making this possible.