Post by dmf1984 on Mar 5, 2008 19:32:54 GMT -5
Bone marrow and/or stem cell donation
I’m not sure how many of you have even heard of this, but there is a database (started US national, now it is international) of potential donors for bone marrow and/or stem cell donation. This type of therapy can sometimes help patients with cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell anemia, etc. by providing them with a source of healthy bone marrow or stem cells (from which red blood cells, white blood cells, T-cells, B-cells, and things like that originate).
Anyway, long story short, I entered this database as possible donor when my Auntie Yvonne was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992. She was not a good candidate for this type of treatment, and eventually passed away in 1994. I kept my name in the database, and kept up with address changes and so on as I went to college and graduate school. In 2000, I got a call from them saying that I was a match for a 40yr old woman with leukemia, and they asked if I was still interested in donating bone marrow. These non-related matches must remain anonymous, although sometimes the donor and the recipient actually meet if both parties are amenable. I never got to meet her as she died about 6 weeks after the transplant from a respiratory infection while in the hospital.
Incredibly enough, I am now a match again, this time for a 55yr old man with leukemia, and will donate stem cells in early April (the dates coincide with my Spring Break this year). Next Monday, the 10th, I’ll be at our local Mayo Clinic for the “donor physical” (basically, everything and the kitchen sink is checked out) and the recipient, wherever he is, will begin chemotherapy and radiation to get rid of his immune system in preparation for my stem cells.
Yes, it is somewhat painful (yay for morphine and codeine
), but we heal pretty quickly and regenerate our donated stem cells or bone marrow for our own bodies. If you are interested, you can check out www.marrow.org to learn more. They are desperate for all types of potential donors, and in most cases, you can enter the database at no cost (just an interview and a few tubes of blood). It would depend how your local folks run things. I’m honestly not sure how these databases are managed outside of the US, but hey, it’s easy to check it out.
The ironic bit is that my whole life, coming up on 42 years on this cute little Earth, I have never been able to donate blood. I’m AB+ and chronically low hematocrit (low iron), and therefore they turn me down when the bloodmobile comes! If anybody’s interested, I’d be happy to tell you more about the bone marrow or stem cell stuff. I even can advocate for this stuff in the biology courses I teach!
Cheers for now,
Dianne
I’m not sure how many of you have even heard of this, but there is a database (started US national, now it is international) of potential donors for bone marrow and/or stem cell donation. This type of therapy can sometimes help patients with cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell anemia, etc. by providing them with a source of healthy bone marrow or stem cells (from which red blood cells, white blood cells, T-cells, B-cells, and things like that originate).
Anyway, long story short, I entered this database as possible donor when my Auntie Yvonne was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992. She was not a good candidate for this type of treatment, and eventually passed away in 1994. I kept my name in the database, and kept up with address changes and so on as I went to college and graduate school. In 2000, I got a call from them saying that I was a match for a 40yr old woman with leukemia, and they asked if I was still interested in donating bone marrow. These non-related matches must remain anonymous, although sometimes the donor and the recipient actually meet if both parties are amenable. I never got to meet her as she died about 6 weeks after the transplant from a respiratory infection while in the hospital.
Incredibly enough, I am now a match again, this time for a 55yr old man with leukemia, and will donate stem cells in early April (the dates coincide with my Spring Break this year). Next Monday, the 10th, I’ll be at our local Mayo Clinic for the “donor physical” (basically, everything and the kitchen sink is checked out) and the recipient, wherever he is, will begin chemotherapy and radiation to get rid of his immune system in preparation for my stem cells.
Yes, it is somewhat painful (yay for morphine and codeine
), but we heal pretty quickly and regenerate our donated stem cells or bone marrow for our own bodies. If you are interested, you can check out www.marrow.org to learn more. They are desperate for all types of potential donors, and in most cases, you can enter the database at no cost (just an interview and a few tubes of blood). It would depend how your local folks run things. I’m honestly not sure how these databases are managed outside of the US, but hey, it’s easy to check it out.The ironic bit is that my whole life, coming up on 42 years on this cute little Earth, I have never been able to donate blood. I’m AB+ and chronically low hematocrit (low iron), and therefore they turn me down when the bloodmobile comes! If anybody’s interested, I’d be happy to tell you more about the bone marrow or stem cell stuff. I even can advocate for this stuff in the biology courses I teach!
Cheers for now,
Dianne
