At a recent noon conference, Internal Medicine residents heard a presentation from second-year resident Dr. Dan Chakos on stem cell and bone marrow transplantation as treatment for various cancers. Dr. Chakos gave a brief overview, defining the sources of different stem cells and allogeneic and autologous transplants. Dr. Chakos also described the ways in which these materials can be collected, the types of complications that can develop after transplantation and their warning signs.

But it was in the final moments of his presentation that Dr. Chakos turned from instruction to direct request to his classmates to become donors themselves. He brought along a number of submission packets and demonstrated the four inner cheek swabs necessary to enter their information into the national registry. He explained that whether one chooses to register with Gift of Life, Be the Match, or any other donor organization, all registrants enter the same database. He described the donation process again, this time from the point of view of the donor, rather than the physician, and most important, the amazing opportunity to save someone’s life that donation represents. For a group of people who have dedicated their careers to doing exactly that, Dr. Chakos made a compelling argument and added a few more members to an important roster.

For more information about how you can also make a profound difference in someone’s life, please visit Gift of Life.