In August 2021, I underwent a stem cell transplant as treatment for bone marrow cancer. Last weekend, I met my stem cell donor, Lauren – a 24-year-old speech pathologist from Columbus, Ohio – for the first time via Zoom. 

Lauren, it turns out, is a kind, smart, young woman with an engaging sense of humor and a heart that’s always aching for others who are suffering. After finishing her master’s degree in speech and language pathology, she now works with grade school kids in the Columbus public school system who have speech disabilities. 

Lauren explained to me how she had registered as a stem cell donor with Gift of Life in college. Her sorority membership included a social responsibility requirement, and by registering as a prospective stem cell donor, Lauren partially fulfilled that requirement. She then went on to create a Donor Circle of friends who have also registered as prospective donors. 

Then things got real. Lauren was contacted by Gift of Life, notifying her that she had been identified as a perfect match with a 68-year-old cancer patient in Chicago looking for a suitable stem cell donor.

Her family, she confided to me, expressed concern, naturally, about the safety of the procedure. But Lauren never gave it a second thought. It was, she told me, “absolutely the right thing to do.” 

“I’m in!” she replied, without hesitation. 

Evolution has hard-wired us to believe that it’s better to be safe than sorry. This bias provided our ancestors with a powerful defense against predators and famine, among other existential threats. While few of us face these same risks today, it’s still easy to fall into the trap of believing that there’s a catastrophe waiting for us around every corner. 

Evolution has no interest in our happiness, contentment, or joy – its only concern is that we get our genes into the next generation. For those of us like Lauren, however, who insist on living a fully human life – a life filled with compassion, love, and concern for others – it’s imperative that we learn how to swim upstream, against the current of evolution. 

Like Lauren, we need to stand up and shout, “I’m in!” Go to https://lnkd.in/gXiPesja to join Lauren’s Donor Circle and register as a prospective bone marrow stem cell donor today.