One call changed a life for South Bend ICU nurse Natalie Raffelock.

Years after a simple cheek swab, she was matched to donate bone marrow to a patient in Houston.

The donation involved five days of injections to boost cell production, followed by a procedure where stem cells were collected from her blood and the rest returned to her.

The process is anonymous for at least a year, and Raffelock had no side effects.

She encourages others to register with the National Marrow Donor Program to help patients with life-threatening illnesses.