Gearing up to donate

I've thought about starting a blog for years, but never had anything to write about that I thought a) anyone would want to read and b) I wanted to share with the blogosphere. However, I've been inspired by a friend's commitment to blogging and the way it helped her large circle of friends communicate about a recent big event in her life. So, I have decided to start my own.

In a few days, I will become a stem cell donor through the National Marrow Donation Program. It started nearly 10 years ago when I registered as a bone marrow donor in college. In March, I received a call out of the blue that I was a potential match for a woman in need of a transplant. I answered a long list of questions and went for a blood test. A month later, I learned that out of more than 6 million people, I was the closest match to this woman and that essentially by donating blood (a process called peripheral blood stem cell donation) I could help save this woman's life. When I heard that she is just 8 years older than me (and younger than my sister), the decision was easy.

Now, after months of tests, doctor's visits, and more phonecalls with the donation agency than I can count, it is actually happening. The patient starts her treatment tomorrow ( chemotherapy and radiation) and in two days, I will receive my first injection of a drug called filgrastim, which helps me to produce more stem cells. On Monday, I will head to the hospital early in the morning to receive the 5th and final injection. About an hour after that, the donation will begin and I will spend the next 6 hours or so reclining and donating blood. A machine will take out the blood-forming cells and give me back the rest (so I don't pass out). Then, they take those cells and deliver them to the patient.

I will continue to document my experiences once I begin the injections and if I can get service in the hospital, would like to blog about the donation process while it happens. I pray that I will be able to update this blog over the next several months with good news about the patient's progress. Throughout all of this, all I can think of is how hopeful and nervous her family must be. I know nothing about her, other than her age and diagnosis, but I know that she is extremely sick and I pray that she is a fighter and that I can aid her in this battle.