So You Are a Donor
Chances are, if you are reading this, you are a family member
who has been found to be a “match” and you will be a donor.
Our mission is to keep it simple and tell you what we
experienced. Keep in mind that every institution has its own
protocols. I was a match for Amy. Our procedure was done at NEMC.
I was given a doctor that was just mine and went through all the
pre-op stuff that one does for any procedure that uses general
anesthesia. You are given a schedule and you go place to place
having the tests done.
The harvest of the cells is done under general anesthesia. It
was taken from two places on my lower hip bone. I woke up at
2:00 and Amy was given the cells later that afternoon.
I was up and about and went out to dinner that night. However,
you are sore, kind of like falling on the ice. You are given
pain meds. in case you need them. I took one pill.
Probably the most annoying thing over the months as we moved to
Beth Israel is that if blood or platelets were needed for a
“boost” is going through the same drill over and over, even if
just weeks apart. We understood the federal rules for blood
products and their safety, but we did get tired of going into
the little room with the door closed and being asked the same
80-plus questions. The favorite was something like “Have you
traveled out of the country in the past 30 days and had
unprotected sex with an IV drug user?” Fat chance.
I suppose one of the more interesting things in being Amy’s
donor was that I was her mother. This resulted in many jokes
such as, “You are becoming your mother”, not always what a
daughter wants to hear. My response was often a sigh with the
remark, “a mother’s work is never done.”
We hope other people will let us know their experiences being a
donor. If you gave a blood sample and were not a match, I
understand that sample type is listed in the National Registry,
giving others a shot at it.
Let us know your experience if you were a donor, to give a heads
up to others.
---Amy’s Mother |
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