I am starting this blog to write out my thoughts and events that occur as I begin the process of donating peripheral blood stem cells. Peripheral blood stem cell, or PBSC, donation is one of two methods of collecting blood-forming cells for bone marrow transplants. The same blood-forming cells that are found in bone marrow are also found in the circulating (peripheral) blood. For PBSC donation, your blood is removed through a needle in one arm and passed through a machine that will collect only the blood-forming cells. The remaining blood is returned to you through a needle in the other arm. This process is similar to what is used when donating blood platelets.
My story begins around October 2008, when my wife and I attended an FC Dallas soccer game and there was a booth set up to collect cheek swabs in an effort to find a bone marrow match for a players wife. Real Salt Lake forward Andy Williams' wife Marcia was diagnosed earlier that year with Leukemia, and in trying to find a match for her, they had a drive at the game to find potential donors. We filled out the forms and rubbed the cotton swab in our cheek and didn't think much of it after that. She eventually went on to have a cord blood transplant in 2009, as they could not find a suitable bone marrow donor, and has done well with her recovery.
More than 5 years after getting swabbed at that soccer game, on December 20th, 2013, I received email on two email accounts that I use, and a phone call on our home phone informing me that I was a potential match for someone! I did not see the emails right away and was not home to get the call, so I was a little anxious to see what was going on.
The next day, I called Delete Blood Cancer (DKMS) and asked how I could help. They said that my swab had indicated I was a potential match for someone and asked if I could go in for blood tests. Due to the Christmas holiday, I was not able to get my blood drawn until the 26th. They took seven vials of blood and had them shipped off immediately for testing. They look for signs of any infectious diseases that would prevent you from donating such as HIV or hepatitis, or any other conditions that would not allow you to donate, like cancer or diabetes.
It was a long period of waiting after this, to know for sure if I was going to be the one asked to donate. Sometimes, there are several candidates and the doctors will determine who is the closest match. They said at the time they contacted me that I was the only possible match in the database, so it was pretty likely that I would be the only one that could help save this persons life.
I finally received the call on February 25th that the blood tests looked good, I am healthy and the doctor would like me to donate. I responded with the answer, "yes, I would be happy to donate" without any hesitation.
The next step from here is a long conversation to go over the entire process, and sign some forms. That will happen later today. Due to the private nature of the entire donation process, I have to be vague about when and where the donation will occur, and not reveal anything I learn about the patient.
I'm very much looking forward to this process, even though I know there will be several days where I'm not going to feel too good. I know that somebody is going through much worse and is depending on me to help them survive.
Stay tuned, as many of you know, I love to photograph, and I will try to include as many pictures of the process as I can. Things are about to start moving quickly, and then a long wait to know if my donation helped.
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