I may be a marrow donor match

[mike64]

20 years ago I was part of a circle of friends who joined the national bone marrow donor list, on behalf of a friend of a friend who had leukemia.

Yesterday I get a Fedexed letter saying I may be a match for a 32 yo man with acute leukemia. I called them up, and they're sending me a cheek swab kit to do further testing. I guess it's only a 1 in 100 chance at this time. If I match they will fly me and one other person to any marrow donor station in the country at their expense to donate.

So there's a chance I just might save a guy's life. Pretty cool

Yeah, I know how they do it, they drill into the pelvis bone to suck the marrow out, and yeah, I know it hurts. That's the first thing my wife told me-- "you know that hurts a lot, right?" Yeah, thanks honey!

 

[JustJason]

Re: I may be a marrow donor match

Good for you if you go through with it. I hear to it's supposed to hurt like hell.

I have a rare blood type (B-). Every time I go to the doc's they ask me to donate...

 

[kend301]

Re: I may be a marrow donor match

Not many people get the chance to save a life , If you decide to do it , Hats Off to you !!! And remember bone has no nerve endings so you will not feel the drill in a painful way. that is how they do brain surgery with a conscious patient, but Having had my knee done with local it is a weird feeling the poking and prodding .

 

[FBPirate95]

Re: I may be a marrow donor match

I'd say do it. Pass on the gift of life. Plus you never know when you might need the same kind of help and can only hope someone would do the same for you. That's why I give blood every chance I get. I'm O+ and get "tapped" at every opportunity. I even do the Alyx machine that pulls more blood but pumps back the plasma so it gives a double unit of blood for the blood bank. Since O+ is a universal donor but can only take O blood, I pray some is on the shelf when I need it.

"Leave a penny, take a penny" lol

 

[mike64]

Re: I may be a marrow donor match

I'd say do it. Pass on the gift of life. Plus you never know when you might need the same kind of help and can only hope someone would do the same for you. That's why I give blood every chance I get. I'm O+ and get "tapped" at every opportunity. I even do the Alyx machine that pulls more blood but pumps back the plasma so it gives a double unit of blood for the blood bank. Since O+ is a universal donor but can only take O blood, I pray some is on the shelf when I need it.

"Leave a penny, take a penny" lol

Good for you FB.

Oh yeah, I'll definitely do it if I pass all the tests. No question. If it turns out I'm the only match for the guy, I couldn't just say "ehh, changed my mind", walk away, and live with myself.

Like I said, it's only a 1 in 100 match though. Back when I was tested they only checked for 4 antigen markers, now they test for 5. So newer candidates who get called have a 1 in 12 chance of matching.

But even if I don't match they'll have like 6 of my "markers" on file now, so I could get called back in the future as an instant 100% match.

 

[angus63]

Re: I may be a marrow donor match

Very few actions are more admirable than giving yourself (literally your body, time, and discomfort) to benefit a stranger in need. OUTSTANDING! Very inspirational Mike!

 

[LadyFish]

Re: I may be a marrow donor match

I'm proud of you

The pain will be worth the huge reward you get knowing that you saved someone's life.

FB, I'm also O+ and understand the importance of our type giving blood.

 

[FBPirate95]

Re: I may be a marrow donor match

I'm proud of you

The pain will be worth the huge reward you get knowing that you saved someone's life.

FB, I'm also O+ and understand the importance of our type giving blood.

We can be each others spare. Let me know if you need a pint! lol

 

[mike64]

Re: I may be a marrow donor match

We can be each others spare. Let me know if you need a pint! lol

This forum is turning into Donorside Chat

 

[nola mike]

Re: I may be a marrow donor match

the docs will be generous with the pain meds if you're donating. just ask. (they may make fun of you behind your back for being a wuss though

 

[LadyFish]

Re: I may be a marrow donor match

We can be each others spare. Let me know if you need a pint! lol

I wonder if I would become a LadyFish Pirate ARGGGHHH

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: I may be a marrow donor match

Very admirable thing to do. A little pain and discomfort to save a life.
I applaud you for what you are doing. Be proud.

 

[mike64]

Re: I may be a marrow donor match

Well, I got the cheek swab kit, did the CSI swab thing to myself, and I'm having it shipped out today. It's funny, since I first got the Fedexed letter, everything has been "time is of the highest priority! Respond immediately!" But they told me I wouldn't hear if I'm a match or not for around 6 weeks. Talk about hurry up and wait.

I'll follow up with the results of the test in 6 weeks or so, in case anybody's interested.

 

[FBPirate95]

Re: I may be a marrow donor match

Keep us posted. It seems to be a very interesting process.

 

[coolbikeguy]

Re: I may be a marrow donor match

way to go if it works out that you are the chosen match ... and remember ... KARMA can be a very good thing ...

 

[Summer Fun]

Re: I may be a marrow donor match

WOW !!, What a giving bunch on iboats
I have one lung & one nut & one kidney I'm not using.
Is there anybody out there that needs any of these ??

 

[TahoeQ4Pilot]

Re: I may be a marrow donor match

Wow, what a selfless act, hats off to the OP. This post made me do some research, I saw in the FAQ below that they classified the donation as discomfort, not pain.

http://www.marrow.org/JOIN/Myths_&_Facts_about_Marrow_Don/index.html

I would hope to hear more about this process from someone going through it.

 

[eaglejim]

Re: I may be a marrow donor match

Hope you are able to help,had a friend of mine go through that process but the 2nd round knocked him out of the process,I guess those markers did not line up he was disappointed.Good luck

 

[mike64]

Re: I may be a marrow donor match

I'm not a match

Hope they can find a match for the guy.

At least now they have my full antigen type on the records in case I match someone else.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: I may be a marrow donor match

what bubble buster. you did all you could for the guy.