On April 12, 2010, I received a call from Patty from the Colorado Marrow Donor Program explaining that I might be a match for a patient. I went down to Denver to have some secondary blood tests done that would determine whether I was a match or not. All of the paper work that they had sent me said that it's rare to be a match, so I should not get my hopes up. However, Patty said that the odds were really good based on my preliminary tests - so my hopes were up. Way up.
They told me that it would be at least 6 weeks before I would hear anything, so all I could do was wait. About 2 months later I got a letter from the Bone Marrow Donor Program stating that for any number of reasons, my patient was not going to have a transplant. This could be for one of three reasons. The patient's condition got better and didn't need a transplant. The patient's condition got worse and couldn't handle a transplant at this time. Or the all-encompassing "some other reason". All they could tell me is that they didn't need me at this time.
Needless to say, I was sad. I wanted to believe that the patient's condition got better, but I couldn't help but think that it got worse. And despite the fact that this was supposed to be a selfless act, I was sad that I couldn't help out.
On Saturday, July 10th, I received another call from Patty. The patient was ready for a transplant! I was thrilled. What I felt when I got that call was simply overwhelming. My patient was alive, and I was going to help him or her get better. I didn't know who (s)he was. I didn't know where (s)he lived. I didn't care. I just wanted to be part of the process of giving him or her a second chance.
Patty explained that the doctor had chosen a Peripheral Blood Stem Cell transplant rather than a Bone Marrow Transplant. For a full explanation of the difference, keep reading this blog!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Donation: Joining the Registry
Back in 2000, after donating blood regularly for years, I was told that I could no longer donate due to new restrictions for people who had lived in the United Kingdom. The ban was designed to prevent the risk of spreading Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease from those who were living in the UK during the outbreak of Mad Cow disease. In 1984 I spent my second college junior semester studying at the University of London - an amazing experience, and one which would indirectly change my life nearly 30 years later.
At the time, I was really disappointed. My father had gotten me involved in donating blood, and I found it to be an easy and rewarding way to "pay it forward". Now that I was no longer able to participate in this effort, I wondered what I would do in its place.
I don't remember who suggested that I join the National Bone Marrow Donor Registry, now known simply as Be The Match (http://www.marrow.org/), but whoever it was, to him or her I am eternally grateful.
I do remember that it was a pretty easy decision to join the Registry. I read the basic information about what it meant to be on the Registry and what it would mean if I were ever a match for a patient. I knew that it might mean being stuck with a big needle to draw out my bone marrow. I knew that it might result in a lot of pain. But I also knew that these risks and obsticles would pale in comparison to what the patient would be living through.
10 years would pass before I would get my first call from the Colorado Marrow Donor Program. Since that first call on April 12, 2010, I have read and researched and have spoken to doctors and have learned so much more about this amazing process.
I encourage you to read this blog about my experience with Be The Match as a donor. I hope that it inspires you to join the Registry yourself.
To my non-white friends and readers: There is currently an urgent need for minority donors including African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino, and American Indian/Alaska Native. Patients and donors must have matching tissue types, and these matches are most often found between people of the same racial and ethnic background. A large, ethnically diverse group of prospective donors will give more patients a chance for survival.
At the time, I was really disappointed. My father had gotten me involved in donating blood, and I found it to be an easy and rewarding way to "pay it forward". Now that I was no longer able to participate in this effort, I wondered what I would do in its place.
I don't remember who suggested that I join the National Bone Marrow Donor Registry, now known simply as Be The Match (http://www.marrow.org/), but whoever it was, to him or her I am eternally grateful.
I do remember that it was a pretty easy decision to join the Registry. I read the basic information about what it meant to be on the Registry and what it would mean if I were ever a match for a patient. I knew that it might mean being stuck with a big needle to draw out my bone marrow. I knew that it might result in a lot of pain. But I also knew that these risks and obsticles would pale in comparison to what the patient would be living through.
10 years would pass before I would get my first call from the Colorado Marrow Donor Program. Since that first call on April 12, 2010, I have read and researched and have spoken to doctors and have learned so much more about this amazing process.
I encourage you to read this blog about my experience with Be The Match as a donor. I hope that it inspires you to join the Registry yourself.
To my non-white friends and readers: There is currently an urgent need for minority donors including African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino, and American Indian/Alaska Native. Patients and donors must have matching tissue types, and these matches are most often found between people of the same racial and ethnic background. A large, ethnically diverse group of prospective donors will give more patients a chance for survival.
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