Two years ago, Andrew Arends ’24 made a commitment.
Inspired by the example of his former classmate Emily Hathcock ’23, Arends signed up for the stem cell donation registry NMDP, formerly the National Bone Marrow Donor Program and Be the Match.
“Emily set up a table in the Mungo Student Center and encouraged people to come by,” says Arends, who is originally of St. Matthews, South Carolina. “You could submit a mouth swab to see if you’re a DNA match. It was a super easy process. So, I did it.”
As the months passed, Arends admits he forgot about the commitment. To his surprise, he received a call in January while interning in Washington, D.C.
“They reached out and told me I was a match,” he says. “They asked if I wanted to move forward. I said yes. And everything went from there.”
Arends admits he has never been fond of needles or the sight of blood, especially his own. But he put his fears aside and agreed to make his donation on April 17 at Prisma Health Greenville Memorial Hospital.
The five days leading up to the appointment weren’t fun, Arends says. He received injections of filgrastim, a synthetic substance used to increase his cell supply. The treatment left him feeling achy but otherwise good.
For the donation, he spent about five hours connected to a machine that extracted 11 million stem cells from his body, more than twice the amount his recipient needed.
Arends says that while recipient identities are confidential, he learned he was donating to a 44-year-old male with leukemia.
“That was definitely the reason I did it,” Arends says. “This guy probably has a family; he may be a dad with a couple of kids. If I have to go through a little bit of pain to save someone’s life or give them a chance, then this is hands down the easiest decision I have ever made.”
Hathcock, who is pursuing a master’s degree in public health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, says she’s proud of Arends for following through.
“It’s very rare to find a match,” she says. “I’m really happy for him. He asked me a lot of questions and wanted to know what to expect. I’m proud of him for his commitment.”
Arends graduated on May 19 with a bachelor’s degree in finance and English. He plans to pursue a career in marketing.
“I think this has taught me to be selfless and appreciative of everything you have, and, when you can, share what you have with other people who don’t have life as good as you have it right now,” Arends says. “I would encourage anyone who wants to do this to go for it!”