Last year when Curtis Sayler made the decision to attend the “Evening With the Rat Pack,” he was looking for a fun night out with his wife Cheri that would help a good cause – he never expected it to be a life-changing experience.
The Las Vegas-themed evening was a fundraiser for the Five Points of Life program that promotes five ways to save lives through donation. He and Cheri got an opportunity to sign up with the National Marrow Donor registry, volunteering to help a patient if needed.
“I didn’t even know it was something that even existed. I thought it was something only family could donate to family when it came to marrow,” said Sayler, who works for Regions Bank in Ocala, Fla.
Together they filled out the paperwork, then took a simple swab of the inside of their cheek to collect cells to test for matching. In just a few minutes they joined more than 8 million other Americans who have volunteered as potential donors.
While they were told the chances of getting called were similar to “winning the lottery,” their opinion was, “How can you possibly say no?”
In April the phone rang with the message, “you may be a possible match.”
“I was shocked, I got goose bumps, I’d never expected to hear anything from it,” he said. “My wife was ecstatic about the fact that I’d been selected. She was proud of the fact that we’d signed up. “
In July he made the donation that will go to a 28-year-old woman who has a form of leukemia. When going through the process he got to talk to patients who’d received transplants and those still on a waiting list.
“It was amazing to see the whole process and how it helps people,” he said.
As the father of 2-year-old son, Curtis Jr., he could imagine what it would be like to be the parent of child on the waiting list. Nationally 70 percent of the people needing a marrow transplant can’t find a match within their family.
“To imagine him needing it sometime and it not being available to him would be devastating,” Sayler said. “You’d hope somebody else would step up and do that for him.”
Four days after donating he was feeling fine and was back on the golf course. He missed only two days of work. The donations are done anonymously. He hopes for the best for the woman and knows he’s delivered a dose of hope with his match. The marrow novice last November has learned a lot in a short time. He said the experience was positive, and he’d urge others to sign up.
“We have the ability, if we’re willing to, to improve someone’s life, possibly to save a life. It’s amazing to think about that,” he said.
Volunteer today as a marrow donor and share the news with any mothers-to-be that the birth of their child may also be able to save another’s life. Someone may be waiting for you to join the registry and be their lifesaving match.
To join the national marrow registry, you need to:
* Be in good general health
* Be between the ages of 18-60
* Takes 10 minutes to complete a form and a cheek swab!
* You are joining a national database of potential donors for ANY patient in need
To find out more, please click on the "Join the Marrow Registry" button to the right under programs.
Curtis Sayler, pictured left, joined the national marrow registry at a Five Points of Life event. He donated his bone marrow recently for a 28-year-old female leukemia patient. 
