My donation experience...

I donated bone marrow recently, and thought I would share my experience here.



It was an amazing, incredible experience.

Back in 1997, when I was an airman in the United States Air Force, I joined the CW Bill Young DOD Bone Marrow Registry at a donor drive on base.  And then I never really thought about it again over the years.  Sure occasionally it would come up, if somebody would mention the registry I would remember I had joined...but I never really thought much about it.

Then, 17 years later, I received a letter at the end of January telling me that I might be a match for a patient with leukemia.  Three weeks later I went to a local center to have blood drawn for more testing to see how close of a match I was for this patient.  I was told it would be 4-13 weeks before I heard anything more.

Exactly two weeks later, on March 4th, I got a call.  I was the best match for this donor and they needed me to donate bone marrow on March 31st.  On top of that, they needed me to fly to Washington D.C. for a physical within a few days to make sure I was medically cleared for the donation.  It was a lot to take in and process.

I flew to D.C. for a quick trip a few days later.  My physical was March 10th and I returned home that night.  It was a really fast trip, but it was very nice.  I felt very taken care of and appreciated by everybody I encountered. 

A few days later I received news that I was medically cleared for the donation and travel arrangements were made.  The DOD Donor Program arranged for my husband, my daughter and I to fly to Washington D.C. for 6 nights.  They provided all transportation, hotel arrangements and food for the trip.  While there, I had 5 days of injections to prepare my body for the stem cell donation.  On the 5th day, I donated stem cells through a process called PBSC.  It was kind of like donating blood, only it took about 6 hours and was a bit more uncomfortable.  It was not nearly as bad as the old bone marrow surgery that used to be required.  All in all, it was slightly uncomfortable for the entire 5 days, and a few days after...but it was well worth it!


While we were there, we were able to do some sightseeing, and had a really nice time.  Everybody was super kind and generous to us.  I felt entirely too spoiled.  It was a wonderful experience!

       
Here is a picture of me and my bone marrow...before it was sent off with a courier to the recipient.  I have no idea where it went, but it was sent off with many prayers for the recipient!

 



I am cleared...

I got the news today...I am medically cleared to donate bone marrow! 


It is a tight schedule till my donation.  I pretty much just have to wait for that day to arrive, and stay healthy in the meantime.  During this time the recipient is being notified that there is a donor and then he/she will start the process to prepare his/her body for the transplant.


I am overwhelmed knowing that a family somewhere in this country is being presented with the news that a donor has been found.  They are being presented with hope.  They are thinking about me, grateful for the news and praying for me.  The only word I can find to describe it is overwhelming. 


The recipient needs your prayers.  Please pray that the patient is able to receive the transplant and that the transplant is successful.  Pray for the patient and his/her family, pray that they are granted many more years of health and happiness.  

The physical

I had a whirlwind trip to Washington DC over the weekend for the next step in the bone marrow donor process.  This trip was required so that I could have a physical completed, to be medically cleared for the donation. 


The registry program I am working with handled all the arrangements.  They flew me direct to DC, put me up in a fabulous hotel and provided top notch meals and transportation.  Not only that, but they treated me absolutely fabulously.  It was a treat!  They flew me out on Sunday, I had the physical Monday morning and was back home Monday night.  I didn't really have time to for sightseeing on Sunday when I got there, so I spent the time relaxing and working on a paper for my MBA program.  It was nice to have some quiet, peaceful time.


On Monday morning, the physical consisted of more blood tests, an EKG, chest x-ray and a meeting with a nurse practitioner.  While I was there, I met a few other people in the same process as me.  One guy is scheduled to have his donation the same day as mine, so I will see him again. 


Everybody involved in the program was absolutely fabulous.  It was a great experience.  All the way down to the enjoyable afternoon spent with one of the other potential donors at the airport waiting for our flights back home.


Now we wait to hear if I cleared the physical!

More details

Although I got lots more details during the phone conference on Wednesday, I will most likely keep them private for now.  At least timeframes, locations etc.  I will share as I feel comfortable.

The phone call took about an hour.  So many things were discussed.  Tons more information for me to process.  This time I was prepared, I took notes!

Risks were discussed.  General information about the patient in need was shared.  We went over the procedure and what to expect.  Dates were discussed, travel arrangements were made and health questions were answered.

I will be sure to share all about it as I go through all of it.

It is my hope that by sharing, I will encourage others to consider joining the registry as well.

Be A Match.  Save A Life!

I am a match!

Well I thought it would be between 4-13 weeks before I received any news on the bone marrow thing.

Turns out it was exactly 2 weeks to the day.

I got a call on Tuesday.  But somehow I didn't hear the phone ring.  About 2 minutes later I noticed I had missed a call from a number I didn't recognize.  As soon as I heard the beginning of the message I knew what it was about.  The kind lady I spoke to the first time about setting up the blood draw had told me if I was a match I would receive a phone call, if I was not then they would send a letter to inform me.  This message was to inform me that I was a match.  So I called back right away.

I can't begin to describe the emotions you go through when you get that call.  Probably, because I didn't have a chance to really process them right then...there was so much information thrown at me so quickly.  I got bits and pieces of it, and then she followed up with an email confirming our appointment to talk again the next day, schedule travel arrangements and discuss the process and risks.  At the time I wondered why we had to wait till the next day for all that...an then I realized shortly after that there was no way I could process it all.  I NEEDED that time to let the information I had settle before I was given more.

Since I registered through this partiular Dept of Defense program, it works a bit differently than other registries.  The main difference is the travel.  In order to complete the donation, I am required to travel.  Since there is a physical required prior to the donation, that means two different trips for me.

Anyway, she told me a little bit about the travel required and then hit me with the biggest shocker...the date the transplant would take place.  Its soon, really soon!  Much sooner than I would have anticipated.  I guess because the first lady said the testing would take so long, and she said typically from the date of the first letter you can anticipate it happening sometime within 6 months.  Well, apparently this patient has an urgent need because its a much faster timeline!

So she asked me to be thinking about the schedule and travel dates...and she emailed me all sorts of forms and information.  And then I spent the next 24 hours trying to mentally process it all.

Met with a vampire today

I think I met a vampire today.  It felt like it anyway!


This morning I went in to have blood drawn to see if I am a close enough match for the patient in need of bone marrow.  Holy moly, they need a lot of blood to determine if I will match or not!  They took 6 vials of blood! 


And then when I got back to the office I told a co-worker about this journey I am on.  His brother died of leukemia a year ago, so I thought he might find it interesting.  It turns out today is exactly one year since the day he received the call from his brother that he had leukemia.  He ended up dying just over a month later.  It was too late at that point to try to find a match. 


Pretty amazing how timing can be sometimes, isn't it.


Now we wait...could be as little as 4 weeks...could be as long as 16 weeks. 

Could be a match!

Interesting bit of news I received. 


17 years ago...September 1997...I registered at a Bone Marrow Drive on the local military base.  I was a young airman in the Air Force, 21 years old in fact. 


I had mostly forgotten about ever registering.  We had a slight run in with the bone marrow program about 10 years ago when our neighbor was diagnosed with leukemia and went on to receive a bone marrow transplant.  She is now my daughters god mother, and I have witnessed first hand how important the bone marrow donation program is.  Without her special donor, she would most likely not be here today to know my daughter, or to meet her grandson. 


Anyway, its been years since I last thought about the registry.  And then yesterday I received a letter via FedEx from the C.W. Bill Young Department of Defense Marrow Donor Program.  The letter informed me that I am a possible match for a patient in need of bone marrow. 


Quite a few emotions and thoughts go through your mind when you receive that letter!


But of course I was willing to donate.  I can't imagine not doing it.


So first thing the next morning, I called my donation coordinator listed in the letter.  I answered a ton of health related questions and then got scheduled for some blood work.  They need to do further tests to confirm that I am a close enough match for the patient in need.  My coordinator set me up for an appointment in a few weeks at a local lab for the testing.


I will update more as I go on this journey!