Donation Complete!

Today is 24 hours post-PBSC donation and it was a bit different than expected.  As mentioned, the preparation shots started on Friday and at that point the medical director stated that they expected the donation to be a 1 day donation and take about 5 hrs.  Flash forward to Tues AM, starting the donation at 8am and thus expecting to be done at 1pm.  Well, I had to be difficult and screw those plans up, but I'll get there.  After getting to the donation center at 7am and getting another set of preparation shots (which increase circulating stem cells during the donation), I entered the donation room and had more attention from the 3 nurses than I knew what to do with.  They were great and got everything all set up by 8am.

The donation started by separating 0.3L of plasma and from there, the PBSC collection started.  During this time, some initial results from profiling the blood came in and the white cell count was low compared to what was expected.  Nothing to do but continue the donation at this point.  At 1030, the stem cell counts came back and were also lower than expected.  This made me wonder whether it would be a 1 day donation or become a 2 day donation.  Again, nothing to do but let the machine continue to collect cells until a decision came from the director and transplant team about the best option.  Finally, this came around 12.15pm and it was not what we nor the nurse expected. I was asked if I could stay on the machine for ~7hrs?!  After hearing the options and deciding on the extended donation, lunch was ordered and we kept on moving along.  In the end, 30L of blood was circulated through the apheresis machine and ~0.75L of cells and plasma was collected for the patient.  I don't have any more of an update but was told that we met a goal of the transplant team.  Hopefully it can now help the kid.

For me, the process was quite tiring.  I couldn't move my left arm for the 7hrs nor do too much with my right arm since the return needle was in that forearm.  Afterward, a nice 2hr nap helped rejuvenate me, though some aches and pains remain through today.  After a long day, many thanks go out to friends and family for support leading up to and during the donation and to Amy for trekking to Providence and being there during the donation.  If I get any more of an update, I'll be sure to update the blog.

Next posts are likely to be the start of DFMC 2013 training where this donation and my experience last year will carry me through both training and the race day!

1/2 Way Through Filgrastim Shots

Today is day 3 of 5 of the Filgrastim shots to mobilize stem cells from the bone marrow.  I didn't realize that the dosage would be split between 2 shots each day.  They're not bad, but one would have been nicer!  Other than that, everything is proceeding as expected. I was told not to run a 1/2 marathon this morning (the Chilly 1/2 in Newton, MA) which was disappointing but a good recommendation.  In the end, this is a major event for the patient and I want to do everything I can to help it succeed.  I gave up my number and everyone is running now on a perfect running day here in Boston.  Definitely miss being out there, but the right decision as I am starting to feel some of the effects of the repeated treatment.

According to Wikipedia: The most commonly observed adverse effect is mild-to-moderate bone pain after repeated administration and local skin reactions at the site of injection.
Yesterday afternoon I went for an easy run and felt various aches creeping up, most notably in my lower back and sternum.  After stretching and showering I crashed and felt exhausted.  Waking up this morning, I'm definitely more tired than I would expect after 8-9 hrs of sleep and the lower back soreness is still definitely present.  Other aches creep up, but nothing too bad.  I guess this is a good thing though as the PBSCs are being mobilized.  Only 4 more shots to go and a 5-6hr donation process, but some temporary discomfort to help someone hopefully overcome cancer is definitely worth it!

Upcoming PBSC Donation

While the upcoming DFMC 2013 season is looming in the distance, I'm preparing for one of the most profound experiences in my life to date.  The hard thing is that I'll have little idea whether it is succesful or not.  Briefly, this Friday I will begin the preparation process to donate Peripheral Blood Stem Cells (PBSCs) for a patient battling a blood cancer followed by the actual donation next Tuesday.

Let me back up a bit.  5 years ago I participated in a bone marrow drive, swabbing my cheek with a Q tip and getting registered in the system as a possible donor.  This seemed like a natural step given the nearly 4 gallons of blood that I've donated over the years.  Fast forward to summer 2012 when an unexpected phone call and e-mail came reminding me that I had participated in the BM drive and that I may have matched with a patient.  I was asked if I would still donate, given some more information and asked to follow up with a blood draw for further confirmation.  Seriously though, who would think that they would randomly match with a patient and a request for bone marrow or stem cells would progress.  Not only that, but this came the same year as running DFMC 2012 to support cancer research in a historic Boston Marathon. Importantly, I ran in support of my incredible patient partner, RJ, who overcame his own battles and supported me throughout the training season and during the marathon.  Needless to say, many thoughts were going through my head about the donation, applying to DFMC 2013 and what the next few weeks/months would hold.

After a few weeks, I was told that the blood test had confirmed that I was a match and that the doctors would like to proceed.  Additionally, this was a critical request from the patient's doctors, bringing even more urgency and important to fast-tracking this process.  I continued through the confirmation process, essentially designed to ensure that not only am I a match but that I was not putting myself in danger by donating.  After an indepth physical, working out the logistics and getting the final approval, the process starts this week.

Friday morning and continuing through Monday I'll be receiving an injection to mobilize stem cells from my bone marrow.  This is one method (the other is an actual bone marrow donation) and is less invasive.  During the donation on Tuesday, I will essentially be going through an extended platelet donation process...blood will be drawn out one arm, PBSCs purified and the remaining blood returned through the other arm.  While there are possible side effects from the preparation process (flu like symptoms mostly) and the donation itself (tired and soreness), I'm just waiting to see how things go.  Thanks to my family and friends, I have an excellent support network.

I'll try to update the blog after the donation but in the meantime am preparing to train for Boston 2013 with DFMC.  This PBSC donation makes running this year even more meaningful and I can only hope that it helps the recipient obtain a 2nd chance at life.  If you'd like more information or to get your name on the donation list, check out http://marrow.org/Home.aspx - we can all help in our own way, either by running for a charity, joining such a list or donating to such causes.