There are no gifts more precious than the gift of life. At halftime of a recent FGCU women’s basketball game, spectators witnessed FGCU student Zoe Horowitz get to meet the person she shared that gift with.
Horowitz joined the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Registry in one of her classes. Gift of Life is a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting blood cancer by connecting stem cell donors with matches. For Horowitz it was as simple as a cheek swab — but for Kevin Mitchell it was a one-in-100,000 opportunity.
Mitchell said he was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome, a rare form of blood cancer that impacts roughly 15,000 people per year. The only form of treatment is a stem cell transplant, which brings with it odds of one in 200 of receiving such a transplant in one's lifetime. That made Mitchell’s odds slim.
Fortunately, Horowitz' marrow was not only compatible, it was a perfect match.
A week after Horowitz was tested, she learned she had a match.
“When I got the call, I was just done with class for the day,” she said, “I was excited to hear the news, but I had no idea what it meant.”
After three weeks of straight treatment, Mitchell was cancer-free. However, donors are unable to contact their recipient until a full year passes.
Horowitz was thrilled when Gift of Life sent her Mitchell’s contact information, “They were like, ‘You should contact him first,’ and I was like, ‘Ok I will!’ Then we ended up on the phone for two hours,” said Horowitz.
Four years following Horowitz’s initial swab test, the two finally met in person.
“It was unbelievable,” said Mitchell about their meeting, “I guess it was anticipation, adrenaline, everything at once, just drove me right to her.”
“I don't think I realized how meeting him would make me feel until we were standing there on the court together,” said Horowitz. “Like everything became full circle, everything made sense; there was just so much clarity and so much reward, and he gives such good hugs.”
To learn more about the bone marrow registry visit www.giftoflife.org.
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