Senior wraps up summer with lifesaving donation
In August, Samantha Lewis offered a stem cell donation that was years in the making.
In many ways, Samantha Lewis had a typical summer heading into her senior year at Carolina. She remained in Chapel Hill for an internship with the Southern Environmental Law Center and hung out and took trips with friends.
But what she did one week before the first day of classes is a bit more out of the ordinary.
Lewis, of Wilmington, made a hospital visit to the Duke Blood Cancer Center to donate peripheral blood stem cells. These versatile cells create white and red blood cells and platelets, helpful for people with blood cancers.
“It was a little painful and not really fun, but it is so much easier than cancer,” Lewis said. The week leading up to her donation, she received a series of shots to increase her stem cell counts. On the day of the donation, a central line was inserted near her collarbone.
“It’s so much easier than chemotherapy. If this cure can take someone out of that pain, then I’m happy to do it over and over again.”
Lewis’ stem cells will go to an older man with leukemia, she said.
Her donation was a long time coming. Stories about her grandfather, who died while her mother was pregnant with her, inspired Lewis’ decision to donate.
“My mom would tell us about her dad and how he battled leukemia,” said Lewis, who’s double majoring in media and journalism and communications studies. “She’d drop in little details as we grew up.”
As soon as she turned 18, she joined the National Marrow Donor Program, also known as Be the Match. What started with a simple mouth swab kicked off a years-long wait to see if Lewis would match with someone in need. She received a message from the donor program last year informing her that she possibly was a match with someone and asking her to reaffirm her commitment.
Fast forward to this past June, when the process unfolded rapidly. Lewis received the official “You’re a Match” email June 20, and a home health nurse came to her home soon after to take vials of blood to confirm she was the best possible match for the man battling leukemia.
“I just was ready to hop right in,” Lewis said.
In the buildup to her donation on Aug. 12, Lewis remained mum about it. She didn’t tell many friends, not wanting to jinx the process or call attention to herself.
“It’s not about me. It’s about someone else,” she said. “There’s someone else with cancer, and I am doing the bare minimum to try to help save their life.”
With her long-awaited donation now complete, she’s more willing to share her story, hoping it inspires others.
Her pitch to those thinking about following her example?
“You have the chance to do something good for a stranger, someone who needs it,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve ever needed something in the way he needed a donation. To be able to provide that to somebody is so rewarding.”
