Allison Havard, health sciences sophomore and vice president for the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) chapter at Texas State, recently underwent the process of donating her peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) to an anonymous patient in need, only a few months after joining the registry.

NMDP is the global stem cell registry whose mission is to help save or prolong the lives of those with blood cancer or disorders through cellular therapy. Havard joined the registry last March and by July learned she was an exact match for a patient.

“For a lot of people, it takes years where they never find a match,” Havard said. “Within a couple of months, I did, which shows someone was out there and I was whoever they needed.”

Havard said her registration process was easy and she didn’t expect anything to come of it as soon as it did. She said when it came to actually donating, it was a straightforward process. Blood is drawn from one arm, the stem cells are removed and then the blood is returned to the other arm. Havard was nervous going  into the donation, but she said she walked away from it with a different feeling.

“It was a very humbling experience because I went into it not having a lot of experience having medical things done to me,” Havard said. “I’m so glad I got this opportunity, but I’m even happier that someone else has the opportunity to possibly have their life saved.”

Kamryn Schwarmer, theatre performance and production junior, was encouraged to join the registry after a community member was in need of finding a match. Havard was the first match she met, and after doing so she could learn more about the process of medical donations. She understands nerves or feelings of inconvenience for potential donors but hopes they can also get some perspective and knowledge.

“I think Allison told me [the procedure] takes maybe 4-6 hours,” Scharmer said. “That’s 4-6 hours of your life to give someone maybe 20-30 years.”

Havard is working with Jocelyn Auxier, human development and family science sophomore and co-president of NMDP, to encourage students to be open to donating a part of their body to help potentially save others. Havard said NMDP recently crossed 1,000 registered donors here at Texas State, but the number of matches including Havard is proportionally low.

“We have at least five potential donors, and five is a lot of people, but also at the same time it’s out of 1,000,” Havard said. “The higher amount of people we have added, the higher chances that other people get to find their life saving match.”

Auxier claims with NMDP being established on campus since this May, it had success in getting students to consider donating. However, she hopes more people will be open to medical donations, whether through NMDP or other donation centers in the future, as it’s more than a simple donation.

“What you are doing is really beyond that one day of donation because that part of you is giving the gift of life,” Auxier said. “You might not think you’re doing a lot of good, but you’re giving what matters most.”