BONE MARROW DONOR - STEW KRANE
My experience as a donor began innocently enough, when I signed up with a few friends at a "swabbing booth" during our birthright trip to Israel. Like anyone else, they took a q-tip to the inside of my cheek to obtain a small DNA sample, slipped it into a plastic bag and took my contact information. 4 years later I'd largely forgotten about the experience until I received an email explaining that I was a match. At first, I didn't know what to think, but after speaking with my doctor, I knew taking part in the process was the right thing to do.
The first step towards donating is "Confirmatory Typing," which essentially consists of a few blood samples to make sure the preliminary DNA are correct and that I was indeed a match. In a normal scenario, immediately after the match is confirmed, the donation process can then continue. Unfortunately I was told, that although I had matched a patient, the patient likely would be unable to survive the donation procedure. As such, the organization put me in a "holding pattern," where I was told to stay in touch and not get sick (if the donor even has the slightest cold, the process can't move forward because those symptoms could be fatally dangerous to the patient).
A few months later, the organization called me up and explained that my patient was doing better, and they'd like to proceed. Almost immediately, I was flown up to one of the organization's partner hospitals for a thorough physical and medical history examination set to be exactly one month before the donation procedure. Once all my test results came back in, I was cleared for the donation and booked flights to return to the hospital for the actual procedure.
The process began 5 days before the actual procedure when I received my first two Neupogen injections- tiny shots to help my body produce more stem cells for the donation. Both shots are given at the same time everyday, and administered by a nurse who came to my home everyday before work. On the 5th day after I began the shots, I went to the hospital early in the morning for a quick physical examination and my last round of the Neupogen shots. Afterwards I was brought into the dialysis unit of University of Maryland Medical Center, where I was treated like royalty by the entire staff, which I now understand is commonplace for donors. They brought me to my hospital bed, where I had a small tube placed in each arm and attached to an aphoresis machine that would slowly filter the extra stem cells (courtesy of the Neupogen shots) out of my system for the recipient.
Over the course of the next 6 hours, I saved a life while lying in a hospital bed, eating pizza and watching TV. The staff always made sure I was completely comfortable to the point that I was asleep for most of it. At the end of the procedure, they showed me a small bag containing the stem cells and gave me one final examination before I left the hospital. The very next day I was back in the office.
Before my experience as a donor, I couldn't imagine saving a life could be so easy. I can only hope that I'm able to spread that message, and help more donors save even more lives through this incredible procedure.
Stew Krane
The first step towards donating is "Confirmatory Typing," which essentially consists of a few blood samples to make sure the preliminary DNA are correct and that I was indeed a match. In a normal scenario, immediately after the match is confirmed, the donation process can then continue. Unfortunately I was told, that although I had matched a patient, the patient likely would be unable to survive the donation procedure. As such, the organization put me in a "holding pattern," where I was told to stay in touch and not get sick (if the donor even has the slightest cold, the process can't move forward because those symptoms could be fatally dangerous to the patient).
A few months later, the organization called me up and explained that my patient was doing better, and they'd like to proceed. Almost immediately, I was flown up to one of the organization's partner hospitals for a thorough physical and medical history examination set to be exactly one month before the donation procedure. Once all my test results came back in, I was cleared for the donation and booked flights to return to the hospital for the actual procedure.
The process began 5 days before the actual procedure when I received my first two Neupogen injections- tiny shots to help my body produce more stem cells for the donation. Both shots are given at the same time everyday, and administered by a nurse who came to my home everyday before work. On the 5th day after I began the shots, I went to the hospital early in the morning for a quick physical examination and my last round of the Neupogen shots. Afterwards I was brought into the dialysis unit of University of Maryland Medical Center, where I was treated like royalty by the entire staff, which I now understand is commonplace for donors. They brought me to my hospital bed, where I had a small tube placed in each arm and attached to an aphoresis machine that would slowly filter the extra stem cells (courtesy of the Neupogen shots) out of my system for the recipient.
Over the course of the next 6 hours, I saved a life while lying in a hospital bed, eating pizza and watching TV. The staff always made sure I was completely comfortable to the point that I was asleep for most of it. At the end of the procedure, they showed me a small bag containing the stem cells and gave me one final examination before I left the hospital. The very next day I was back in the office.
Before my experience as a donor, I couldn't imagine saving a life could be so easy. I can only hope that I'm able to spread that message, and help more donors save even more lives through this incredible procedure.
Stew Krane