– How does it feel to be a bone marrow donor? Knowing that you are a little better? – Not so much better as that you had a chance. “To have a chance” means a lot. For Michał, a future nurse from Pasłęk, coming of age meant one thing: I can save someone’s life. He says about himself: a normal boy …
And only until
Out of 365 days in 2018, Michał remembered two the most. As he emphasizes at the beginning of the conversation, it was nothing extraordinary – he sat in the armchair for several hours, watched “The Master and Margarita”, and the plasma separator standing next to it was working. After donating hematopoietic stem cells from peripheral blood, he felt only a slight fatigue that passed after a short nap. Nurses told him that his blood was filtered eight times during the collection. Eight times it left the body and returned to it, and on the way it was filtered out of cells that mean a new life for someone.
In the case of 22-year-old Michał, a future nurse from Pasłęk, the story of “becoming a donor” began with bad news. My friends’ daughter, a two-year-old child, fell ill with leukemia. The only cure was through a hematopoietic stem cell transplant. The search for a bone marrow donor began quickly.
– I remember that I really wanted to help them, but I was not yet eighteen. How much have I missed? Only and up to a few months. I got involved in publicizing the case and searching for a donor. Fortunately, he soon found himself. The joy of parents that someone gave their child life was indescribable. It was then that I decided that as soon as I was of age, I would immediately join the database of potential bone marrow donors. And so it happened, I blew out eighteen candles and ordered the registration package online. In the package that came with me, I found instructions for taking a smear on the inside of the cheek, three chopsticks and a return envelope. The first step took less than five minutes.
There is a recipient …
About three months after the package was sent back, Michał received confirmation of the completion of registration in the database. In other words, it has become an “active potential bone marrow donor”. The phone from the DKMS Foundation rang quickly …
– I was surprised that a recipient was found immediately. I have friends who have been waiting five or even ten years from the moment of registration to donate bone marrow. The co-ordinator from the foundation asked me if he was upholding his decision. I had no doubt that it would. Soon after, further preparations began, i.e. preliminary tests aimed at checking more precise compliance with the patient in need. It turned out that a different donor was more appropriate. I was a bit disappointed, but felt that my time would come.
And he came. Half a year later, the coordinator from the Foundation contacted Michał again and explained that the transplant had not taken place.
– I was once again asked if I am sustaining my willingness to help. I agreed without thinking, and a week later I went to the hospital where I had all the necessary examinations. The last stage was a consultation with a hematologist. I didn’t pay for anything – the costs of transport, hotel and meals were covered by the DKMS Foundation. Moreover, I found out that my health after the collection would be monitored for the next decade.
In the case of Michał, as in the case of 85 percent. donors, hematopoietic stem cells were collected from peripheral blood. For five days before the collection itself, he was taking a drug – G-CSF, whose task is to increase the number of hematopoietic stem cells in the bloodstream. The so-called “growth factor” is given by injection under the skin. Due to his profession, Michał is a future nurse, he performed the injections on his own after training by the medical staff of the Collection Center (OP).
We can change the world of one person
– What does “day zero” look like step by step? In the morning you come to the clinic, where everything is already prepared. A good breakfast, a cola, a comfortable armchair, and next to it, a plasma separator that separates hematopoietic cells into a special bag. In my case, the whole thing lasted two days, twice eight hours each. I felt well looked after – the medical and nursing staff supported me throughout my stay in the ward. After all, the nurses told me that my blood was filtered eight times during the collection. Eight times it left the body and returned to it.
When asked about myths around bone marrow donation, most of them denied. Taking his marrow did not hurt – the puncture site was anesthetized. After taking it, he felt only a slight fatigue that passed after a half-hour nap.
– I learned that my hematopoietic stem cells flew far, overseas, to the United States. The recipient was a middle-aged man. Later, due to the recurrence of the cancer in my “genetic twin”, I was asked to donate lymphocytes.
Unfortunately, as it turned out, the recipient of Michał’s marrow did not survive. Exactly a year ago, a future nurse from Pasłęk received a letter informing that, despite everything, it did not work. The DKMS Foundation offered him the opportunity to talk to a psychologist.
– How does it feel to be a donor? Inconceivable, I had a chance to help someone. “To have a chance” means a lot. Recently, I talked to my parents after the loss – they said that information about finding a donor is hope. The driving force for action. The patient fights back for health, recovers his strength. I will say this, saving one life will not change the whole world, but we can change the world of one person. It was only two days for me, and two years for my recipient. Sometimes donation means life, and sometimes it is hope for life, will to fight, time to say goodbye to family and loved ones. Therefore, without hesitation, I informed the Foundation that I would like to continue to be on the bone marrow donor register. Someone in the world is waiting for sure …
The DKMS Foundation works to ensure that the story of each patient has a happy ending. To help patients for whom the only chance for health is a “genetic twin”, it is enough to register as a potential bone marrow donor via the website: www.dkms.pl. It is a decision that could save someone’s life.