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.