by Ohr Adani, IDF recruit

When I was a little girl, I would throw the biggest tantrums at the doctor's office as soon as the needle appeared. When I joined the IDF, a shot was part of the induction and the embarrassment of throwing a tantrum at the age of eighteen overrode the fear which stayed since early childhood.

As I prepared myself emotionally for the needle to be plunged into my arm, I noticed from the corner of my eye the collection station where blood samples were collected for Ezer Mizion's Bone Marrow Registry. "No chance that I'll go there," was my initial reaction. "Not me!"

When I passed the Ezer Mizion station afterwards, I was still dizzy. I was absolutely sure that there would be no more needles for me that day, especially since joining the Registry by giving a blood sample was optional. But, somehow, I couldn't pass it by. I walked a few steps, backtracked, shuddered and made my way, far away, from the station there.

But as I reached the next area, the scene would repeat itself. "Maybe I could save someone's life...Probably not, though...But maybe yes...But that shot! And I'm still so weak...But someone could die...But...", until I finally decided that this prick was for a very important purpose - to save lives - and that I had to do it. I gathered up my courage and ...I did it.

Well, you guessed it. From almost 600,000 registrants, I was a genetic match for a cancer patient. The process was almost painless but oh, so scary for me. Many, many needles later, I had conquered my fear of shots-finally- but, most important, I, shaky little me, had saved a life!"