I am a donor for my brother who has AML and we are set for harvest and transplant next month. Its a bit scary anyone have any insight?
Thank you
I thought they had changed the process for bone marrow donation. It’s little different than donating blood now.
Did some googling, guess it depends on which type you do. The peripheral blood stem cell version is the one I was thinking of. Have they told you which kind? The PBSC will have you basically fully recovered in a week. According to the National Marrow Donor Program …
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I’m not a donor but my husband had a bone marrow transplant for CLL so I was a part of the process. His sister was his match, and I was basically in charge of getting her to Boston and sat with her throughout.
They “harvested” her bone marrow with a local anesthetic, and she was talkative and joking with everyone while it was going on, and the doctors and nurses treated her like gold during her stay. Once they had her marrow, it was a matter of an IV for my husband. She was sore afterward, but it was managed with ibuprofen. She had a dressing for a couple of days. I don’t know where you’ll be, but the hospital (Massachusetts General) put her up in their VIP section and treated her like a celebrity. Since she had never been on an airplane, or traveled outside of the West, it was a big and scary deal for her. And when it was over she asked the doctors “That’s it?”
She stayed for two days and then flew home. All of his six siblings were tested but only this sister was a perfect match.
Everyone’s experience is different, but hope this helps a bit.
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Hi
They are harvesting the marrow though my hip and femur a liters worth they said and will be under general anastestsia. They said it would be out patient but I would need to come back the next day for bandage change and blood work to be sure my numbers are rebounding as they should. I think it scares more for my brother because of the high risk of rejection and he will be having high doses of chemo right before to kill all that he has. The whole thing is scary.
My BIL had the stem cell version, so no family member was involved. It was a horrible experience for the recipient but it gave my BIL an additional nine years and he was cancer free at the time of his death.
It is a very scary procedure for the recipient, he won’t have any sort of immune system for a very long time and they can’t do the simplest things, like bait a fish hook or eat at a restaurant. Compared to what the recipient will be going through, your part will be over fairly quickly. You are giving your brother a lifesaving gift and I wish the best for both of you.
Spook, what a loving gift. Good luck and best wishes for you and your brother
p.s. What a beautiful Arab you are riding in your profile
As a Leukemia/BMT RN, I applaud you for donating to your brother. Good luck to you and your brother on this journey. I’ve always told my patients that this whole process is a marathon and not a sprint. Best wishes
