Gibraltar alum Will Friedenfels hopes his story of an impulse decision to do what he could to save a life inspires others to do the same. Now a student and a member of the St. Norbert College basketball team, Friedenfels was walking through the campus cafeteria when a table was set up for the marrow donor registry NMDP recruiting people to be a match with a simple mouth swab. When asked if he wanted to save a life, Friedenfels says there was no way he could say no. He admits he forgot he had done when he received a call over spring break saying he was a potential match. Several weeks later, he and his mom, Sandra, were in Seattle helping someone he may never meet get a new lease on life.

Despite the injections and medicines he had to take before the procedure and the recovery afterward, Friedenfels says he is prepared to do it again if his number is called.

According to NMDP, someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer every three to four minutes, with 70 percent of those patients lacking a fully matched donor in their family. A blood stem cell donation like Friedenfels' can help treat or even cure over 75 diseases. You can join the NMDP donor registry by clicking this link. 

Picture courtesy of Sandra Friedenfels