Nearly 10 years ago, medical student Seth Adler opened a swab kit from the Gift of Life, swabbed the inside of his mouth and joined the registry to help save someone鈥檚 life.
鈥淚 really forgot about it until they reached out to me in early 2025 saying I was a match for a 78-year-old male with leukemia,鈥 Adler says.
Gift of Life鈥檚 mission is to cure blood cancer through cellular therapy. According to the organization, about one in every 60 donors on the registry is identified as a match during any given year. Roughly 30% of these matches are selected to move forward and donate for transplantation.
Knowing he was a match, Adler set up where and when he would donate, choosing to fly to Seattle last April.
鈥淭he days leading up to the donation were pretty simple,鈥 he says. 鈥淚t was a great experience to go through this, not to just go on a trip, but also to see what this side of medicine is like.鈥
Growing involvement in Gift of Life and the community
Adler returned to Chicago looking for more ways to volunteer in the community and knew Rush Medical College would be the perfect starting point.
鈥淚 wanted to start a Gift of Life club because I haven鈥檛 seen their presence on Rush University鈥檚 campus, and I figured this is a great place for that to happen,鈥 he says.
He held his first tabling event on campus at the end of December. Adler says he plans to host another but is looking for new ways to spread the organization鈥檚 mission.
鈥淚鈥檇 like to do a presentation on Gift of Life because that鈥檚 how I learned about it,鈥 he says. 鈥淚鈥檇 gear it toward students and possibly set up tabling events outside classrooms, host virtual meetings or present at orientation with first-year students.鈥
Easing others鈥 concerns about donating
Adler is reminded of his hesitations as he encourages his classmates to join the registry. He hopes to ease their apprehension by sharing just how significant donations are.
鈥淵ou can back out at any time if you feel uncomfortable,鈥 he says. 鈥淏ut I do want to emphasize how important stem cells [or bone marrow] are. If someone is diagnosed with blood cancer, and chemotherapy or surgery fails, this donation is their last treatment option."
For more information on Gift of Life, contact Adler. You can also request an at-home swab kit directly from Gift of Life鈥檚 website.
