During the recent season of giving, a Coalville woman gave a total stranger a unique and powerful gift.

Tonya Peltz donated some of her bone marrow, but what she really gave someone is a second chance at life.

On Dec. 22, she traveled to Washington, D.C., to make the donation after being identified as a match for the ailing patient through a national registry. She underwent the donation procedure on Dec. 23 and was back home on Christmas Eve.

The donation was an act of both generosity and bravery by Peltz. Actually, the word generosity fails to effectively describe the act of literally giving a part of yourself to another person. And it was certainly an act of bravery because it took some guts to allow large needles to be stuck into her to siphon out some of her precious bone marrow.

Peltz remains modest about what she did.

”I was happy, especially at Christmas time, to give someone a chance to be able to live longer,” she told The Messenger.

There are many, many other Americans who need the lifesaving help of a donor like Peltz.

Blood donations are perhaps the most common. They are the simplest donation to make, and each pint of blood donated can help multiple people.

Bone marrow and organ donors are also needed.

We encourage people to do some research and at least consider the possibility of becoming a donor.

Those who become donors may end up saving the lives of relatives and friends.