Nearly a decade after joining the Gift of Life registry, medical student Seth Adler was contacted in early 2025 as a match for a 78-year-old man with leukemia. Adler first registered by swabbing his mouth and sending in the kit, but did not expect to be called upon.
“I 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,” Adler said.
Gift of Life is an organization focused on curing blood cancer through cellular therapy. The group reports that approximately one in every 60 donors on its registry is identified as a match each year, and about 30% of those matches proceed to donate stem cells or bone marrow for transplantation.
Adler arranged his donation for April in Seattle. “The days leading up to the donation were pretty simple,” he said. “It 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.”
After returning to Chicago, Adler sought further opportunities to volunteer and decided Rush Medical College would be an ideal place to promote Gift of Life’s mission. Rush University Medical Center, located in Chicago and founded in 1837, serves as both a training hospital and includes pediatric care. Its current president is Dr. Omar Lateef.
“I wanted to start a Gift of Life club because I haven’t seen their presence on Rush University’s campus, and I figured this is a great place for that to happen,” Adler said.
He organized his first tabling event at the university at the end of December and plans more activities aimed at increasing awareness among students. “I’d like to do a presentation on Gift of Life because that’s how I learned about it,” he said. “I’d gear it toward students and possibly set up tabling events outside classrooms, host virtual meetings or present at orientation with first-year students.”
Adler acknowledged some people are hesitant about joining the registry or donating but wants others to understand the impact such donations can have.
“You can back out at any time if you feel uncomfortable,” he said. “But 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 about Gift of Life or how to join the registry, interested individuals can contact Adler or request an at-home swab kit from Gift of Life’s website.
