I have been matched with some poor soul somewhere around the world that needs some bone marrow of mine.
How long does it take to recover from the procedure and get back to full running strength?
Will the person become obsessed with running from the sea to their highest mountain in the country? (hope they aren't from nepal)
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Bone Marrow DonationI won the anti lottery
Started by RobHall, Jan 11 2010 08:50 PM
8 replies to this topic
#1
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Posted 11 January 2010 - 08:50 PM
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#2
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Posted 11 January 2010 - 09:10 PM
Rob
Congratulations, in a way. I was shortlisted once for a donation. I think the Bone Marrow Donor Registry found someone more compatible so they were asked instead of me. It's a huge advantage to have good health, nutrition, and great doctors who are able to perform such amazing procedures as a bone marrow transplant. Good luck with it, and let us know how you get on. The website should be able to answer some of your questions.
Congratulations, in a way. I was shortlisted once for a donation. I think the Bone Marrow Donor Registry found someone more compatible so they were asked instead of me. It's a huge advantage to have good health, nutrition, and great doctors who are able to perform such amazing procedures as a bone marrow transplant. Good luck with it, and let us know how you get on. The website should be able to answer some of your questions.
#3
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Posted 11 January 2010 - 09:23 PM
Rob, that's great that you're able to do this for someone. I've had lots of firsthand experience in what a difference it can make to someone's life.
Recovery time will depend on both how you donate, and how much is needed. The amount depends on how heavy the recipient is - children need a lot smaller cell dose than adults.
The type of donation may be dictated by the recipient's doctors, but you may also have a choice in whether you give bone marrow itself or peripheral blood stem cells. The first is a quicker procedure but involves a general anaesthetic and extracting the marrow from your hip bones. Recovery can be a bit painful and you also lose some blood along with the stem cells, so that may hamper your return to running - in much the same way that donating blood can affect exercise tolerance. Depending on how much you donate and the timeframe, you may be encouraged to give an autologous donation of blood some time before so that you can have it back afterwards. Alternatively you may be given iron tablets to help your marrow recover.
If you donate peripheral blood stem cells, you'll be asked to give yourself injections of a growth factor for 7-10 days beforehand. This can make your bones quite achy. On the day of donation, you'll be connected to the apheresis machine for some hours, but you remain awake. You'll have one or more vascular lines put in and your blood is cycled through the machine to remove the stem cells. The rest of your cells are returned to you so anaemia is much less of an issue than with an actual marrow donation. Because it doesn't involve needles into your hip bones either, returning to running should be much quicker.
I hope that helps. If you've got any more questions either now or once you know more details, please don't hesitate to ask.
Recovery time will depend on both how you donate, and how much is needed. The amount depends on how heavy the recipient is - children need a lot smaller cell dose than adults.
The type of donation may be dictated by the recipient's doctors, but you may also have a choice in whether you give bone marrow itself or peripheral blood stem cells. The first is a quicker procedure but involves a general anaesthetic and extracting the marrow from your hip bones. Recovery can be a bit painful and you also lose some blood along with the stem cells, so that may hamper your return to running - in much the same way that donating blood can affect exercise tolerance. Depending on how much you donate and the timeframe, you may be encouraged to give an autologous donation of blood some time before so that you can have it back afterwards. Alternatively you may be given iron tablets to help your marrow recover.
If you donate peripheral blood stem cells, you'll be asked to give yourself injections of a growth factor for 7-10 days beforehand. This can make your bones quite achy. On the day of donation, you'll be connected to the apheresis machine for some hours, but you remain awake. You'll have one or more vascular lines put in and your blood is cycled through the machine to remove the stem cells. The rest of your cells are returned to you so anaemia is much less of an issue than with an actual marrow donation. Because it doesn't involve needles into your hip bones either, returning to running should be much quicker.
I hope that helps. If you've got any more questions either now or once you know more details, please don't hesitate to ask.
#4
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Letting go.......
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Posted 11 January 2010 - 09:59 PM
doesn't sound like much fun.
I suppose I'll do whatever they think is best for the person sick. If I get a general anesthetic my wife will ask them to do a vasectomy too. so a sore hip might be the least of my worries.
I suppose I'll do whatever they think is best for the person sick. If I get a general anesthetic my wife will ask them to do a vasectomy too. so a sore hip might be the least of my worries.
#5 Guest_Carmen_*
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Posted 11 January 2010 - 10:31 PM
Good on you Rob for doing this. I have friend whos 2 (now 3) year old has spent the last year in hospital having chemo, surgery, blood transfusions, a bone marrow transplant, and now radiation therapy. All in an attempt to cure a rare form of cancer from which 70% of children will die. You are doing a good thing.
Edited by Carmen, 11 January 2010 - 10:32 PM.
#6
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Posted 12 January 2010 - 07:58 AM
Carmen, on Jan 11 2010, 09:31 PM, said:
Good on you Rob for doing this. I have friend whos 2 (now 3) year old has spent the last year in hospital having chemo, surgery, blood transfusions, a bone marrow transplant, and now radiation therapy. All in an attempt to cure a rare form of cancer from which 70% of children will die. You are doing a good thing.
Edited by loubee, 12 January 2010 - 08:21 AM.
#7
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Letting go.......
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Posted 12 January 2010 - 10:39 AM
just tell me jo blake, phibes, bryan and tim2 do it regularly and i'll be happy...
I'm not a 100% confirmed as a match yet so might not happen
I'm not a 100% confirmed as a match yet so might not happen
#8
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Why not?
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Posted 12 January 2010 - 08:47 PM
Rob,
I've been shortlisted once but it fell through - I don't know why. I'm always left with the hope that it was because the intended recipient got better. I can tell you though that I'd give my back teeth to be able to do it. Our eldest son recovered, courtesy of a bone marrow donation from his younger brother, but we saw too many kids die for want of a good match. For anyone who hasn't already done so, go to the Australian Bone Marrow Registry and read the info there and consider putting yourself on the list of potential donors.
As for your questions - our donor son (himself a Rob - does it go with the name?
) was only 10 at the time and our older son was a burly 16 year old, so the quantity of marrow taken was comparatively quite sizeable. I know that little kids bounce back quickly, but although Rob was a bit crook on the day of the op, he was kicking around without too much worry within a few days.
I've been shortlisted once but it fell through - I don't know why. I'm always left with the hope that it was because the intended recipient got better. I can tell you though that I'd give my back teeth to be able to do it. Our eldest son recovered, courtesy of a bone marrow donation from his younger brother, but we saw too many kids die for want of a good match. For anyone who hasn't already done so, go to the Australian Bone Marrow Registry and read the info there and consider putting yourself on the list of potential donors.
As for your questions - our donor son (himself a Rob - does it go with the name?
) was only 10 at the time and our older son was a burly 16 year old, so the quantity of marrow taken was comparatively quite sizeable. I know that little kids bounce back quickly, but although Rob was a bit crook on the day of the op, he was kicking around without too much worry within a few days.
#9
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veryCoolRunner
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Posted 12 January 2010 - 09:56 PM
RobHall, on Jan 11 2010, 08:50 PM, said:
I have been matched with some poor soul somewhere around the world that needs some bone marrow of mine.
How long does it take to recover from the procedure and get back to full running strength?
Will the person become obsessed with running from the sea to their highest mountain in the country? (hope they aren't from nepal)
How long does it take to recover from the procedure and get back to full running strength?
Will the person become obsessed with running from the sea to their highest mountain in the country? (hope they aren't from nepal)
Good luck Rob - I put myself down on that list last year during one of my normal donations - I have my fingers crossed that it all works out well. People have asked me why I put my name down on that list and the exact reason is why you have been picked "to help save someones life"
Who knows maybe with a little less bone marrow slowing you down you might run even faster? Or at least have the high of doing something to really save someones life...surely that will make you run and train harder.....
Ross...
