FDIC-Insured - Backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. GovernmentTwelve years ago, Samantha Bazydlo, Customer Solutions Manager of the North Stonington Branch, had a close friend whose child was diagnosed with cancer at the age of four. Sadly, after battling cancer for four years, the child passed away. A witness to their family’s journey, Sam didn’t want to see another family go through a tragic loss. Sam was inspired to sign up as a donor with the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), formerly known as Be the Match, and left it at that.
In May of 2024, Sam received an unexpected email in her inbox. She opened the email which read that Sam was a potential stem cell match for a candidate in need. Unsure if it was a legitimate email, Sam took to Google to pull up the program’s information and gave them a call back. She was notified that she’s a potential match to a candidate in need and if willing, was asked to drive to Norwich for further blood testing.
Motivated and wanting to help, Sam drove to Norwich to complete the additional testing. “So I went to Norwich. I got some blood drawn and I started doing my own research and I found out then that 10% of people who go to that first round actually end up being the match,” shared Sam. “I did the blood work and put it out of my mind thinking I’m probably not going to be the person.” Although the chances of being a match were slim, Sam was confirmed to be the best match for the candidate.
Nervous, Sam conferred with the doctors on the process, asked any and every question to her coordinator assigned to her by NMDP, and underwent a 2-hour physical and mental exam in Providence to make sure she was in the right headspace to participate.
The only thing left for Sam to do was to make her final decision on going through with it or not. “So at that point I was a little nervous, but honestly, my mind just kept going to ‘how can I make this work?’” said Sam. “When I signed up for this, I knew I was making a commitment and if I got that phone call, I was probably going to go through with it.” With support coming from friends, family and work, Sam was 100% in.
In July of 2024, NMDP flew Sam and her mother to Washington DC to commence the transfer. There she began the process to donate peripheral blood stem cells, a non-surgical method that collects by an apheresis machine. Drawn blood is spun at a high speed, separating the cells into layers. Platelets and white blood cells are collected while plasma and red blood cells are returned to the donor’s body via a second line. It’s a similar process to donating plasma, however, the process can take 4 to 8 hours.
Now, six months later, Sam is hoping to hear an update from her recipient and eventually connect with her. With the donor process, it’s up to the recipient if they want to connect with their donor a year from the donation date. As she waits, Sam encourages others to consider becoming donors. “A lot of people think the process is surgery, but it’s not always. If you can sit and donate blood, you can do this.”
If interested in being a marrow donor, please visit NMDP to learn more.
