In 2022, Kaitlyn was a freshman at the University of South Carolina, where she joined the Delta Zeta sorority. She participated in her first Sweet Caroline, a week-long event where the chapter recruits their peers to join the Global Stem Cell/Marrow Registry. While she was volunteering, Kaitlyn decided that she wanted to sign up in the hope of one day matching with a blood cancer patient. Over the course of her four years at USC, she learned about the registry extensively and understood how important matching with a patient can be.
This year, Kaitlyn received a call from Gift of Life letting her know that she was a match for a 67-year-old man battling leukemia. Without hesitation, Kaitlyn said yes to donating—she knew the difference her cells could make in this patient’s treatment. A few years prior, Kaitlyn’s grandfather, who was around the same age as her patient, passed away from his own battle with cancer. She thought about how much of an impact it would have had on someone to donate to her grandfather and decided that she wanted to provide that for this patient and his family.
At the start of her first semester of law school at High Point University, she began receiving filgrastim shots in preparation for her donation. Thanks to the incredible support from her HPU professors, Kaitlyn flew down to Boca Raton, Florida during her second week of school for the donation. She was excited to bring her grandmother and show her how she would be able to help save the life of her patient. Kaitlyn said that it was extremely impactful to see what they are able to do at the Gift of Life facility and how much care the staff put into these donations. She said that the nurses made her feel comfortable and constantly checked in with her, making the process less scary than some people might anticipate.
After a successful donation, Kaitlyn has been back at law school where she is hoping to build a career in public service. She reflects on her donation positively and is grateful that she was able to make a difference for someone else. She recently was able to write her patient a letter and hopes to one day meet the man who received her stem cells.