Gracie Kelly did not know the man who would receive her stem cells. She knew little about his life beyond his approximate age and his need for a transplant.

For Kelly, a junior mathematics major from Corona, California, helping meant overcoming a fear of needles, possible pain and balancing the donation process with her responsibilities as an ACU soccer player and team captain.

She had not expected any of those decisions when she joined the donor registry months earlier.

At a campus event in the spring, teammate Raelin Miller, a junior marketing major from Winter Park, Florida, volunteering at the event, encouraged Kelly to participate in a donor registration effort.

“I would never have imagined that it would end up going somewhere, honestly,” Kelly said.

The registration effort involved Earl Young’s Team, an organization founded by ACU alumnus, Olympic gold medalist and leukemia survivor Earl Young. After receiving a lifesaving stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor, Young established the organization to recruit potential donors and increase awareness. The organization works with DKMS to register potential blood stem cell donors through cheek swabs.

Donated stem cells can help treat certain blood cancers, including acute myeloid leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia, by restoring the body’s ability to produce blood cells after intensive chemotherapy or radiation.

In August, while on campus for soccer preseason, Kelly received an email saying she was a potential match for a patient who needed a transplant. She was sitting in the Bean with friends when she opened the message.

The notification began a series of phone calls, health screenings and discussions about whether she could donate. Kelly said several potential donors were considered before she was selected as the best match.

The timing complicated her decision. Soccer season was underway, and following through meant confronting several fears: the needles, the potential pain and the possibility of missing practices and games with her team.

Soccer coach Stephen Salas said Kelly kept him informed about the process months in advance so the team could prepare for her appointments and absences.

For a player Salas considers the best defender in the conference, time away from the field mattered. But he said her willingness to follow through reflected the leadership he had recognized when recruiting her.

“I joke around with people all the time, Gracie could have been a captain her freshman year,” Salas said.

As she considered the commitment to being a donor, Kelly connected the decision to the expectations she sets for herself as a captain. She described servant leadership as the foundation of her approach to the team.

Salas said that approach shows up in responsibilities that rarely draw attention. Kelly is the first to pick up bags of soccer balls and helps collect and deliver teammates’ meals.

“It shows again a true testament to the type of person and her integrity and her servant leadership that she has,” Salas said.

To him, those habits connect the captain her teammates know at practice with the person willing to donate to a stranger. He said Kelly puts her team first even while managing a demanding major and the physical requirements of the donation process.

“No matter what she’s going through, she’s gonna lead,” Salas said.

Kelly underwent blood testing and an extensive medical-history review before the donation. She also learned that the process would require a series of injections in the days leading up to the collection.

For Kelly, who had long been afraid of needles, accepting that part of the process was a challenge.

“I had to get over it fast,” Kelly said.

Kelly said she experienced little discomfort during the first several days but developed lower-back pain as the donation approached.

Although soreness was familiar from soccer, she had been concerned about how much pain the preparation might cause. Before donating, she discussed those concerns with her mother.

Her mother encouraged her to compare the temporary discomfort of donating with the treatment the recipient faced. Kelly had an opportunity to help someone dealing with a serious, often terminal illness, even if doing so meant accepting something she would rather avoid.

Instead of focusing only on the needles or potential pain, she began thinking more about what the donation could mean for the recipient.

Her faith also influenced her decision. Kelly viewed being selected as a donor as an unexpected opportunity to serve.

“God puts you in positions that maybe you don’t want to be in or never asked to be in,” Kelly said.

“She’s literally changing the course of someone’s life, and continues to serve,” Salas said. “She’d be in practice too if she could physically stand up. It’s a great testament to who she is and how she leads. It sets a good stewardship for the rest of our girls to make an impact like that when you can.”

The night before the donation, Kelly traveled to Dallas. The following morning, she received another injection and underwent additional checks before collection.

When discussing the donation, however, Kelly was reluctant to take credit for the recipient’s treatment. She emphasized the work of the medical professionals responsible for his care and described her role as providing something they could use to help him.

“All the props go to the health care workers,” Kelly said.

She hoped describing the process could offer reassurance to someone who joined the registry and later received a similar email.

“If I had heard one other story of just somebody who went through it and was OK,” Kelly said, “it would have been so helpful.”

For Kelly, learning more about the recipient had already made the experience more personal.

Although she did not know his identity, she said she was told he was a man in his late 50s or early 60s. Thinking about his age led her to imagine her own father in his position.

“But then I was like, wait, but that’s like my dad being able to go to my wedding if he survived,” Kelly said.

She did not know whether the man had a daughter or a wedding ahead of him. But the comparison helped her understand what more time could mean for his family.

The donation was no longer only a medical process she needed to fit around soccer or a series of needles she needed to endure. It was an opportunity to help someone have more time with the people who knew him, even if she never would.

Visit Earl Young’s Team to learn more about its mission or DKMS to register and get tested for free as a potential stem cell donor.