teach

Hi,

I received a letter to day asking me to go for more tests as I am a possible match for a patient who needs a bone marrow transplant. Anyone ever been called up? If so, what does it actually entail? I have always said I would do it if I was called but want to know if it affect my application for a visa if I've been in hospital? Any help will be great, as I will have to give them an answer when they call me back tomorrow. Thanks in advance.

Sarah

PS If you don't have any info, can you please bump me back to the top, I need to find some answers quickly? Ta very much.

teach

Sorry, bumping my way back up. Please help if you can.


Sarah

karen and andy

bump

Vegemite Kids

Hi Sarah,
I've been contacted once as a possible match and the next step was that I was asked to go for more detailed blood testing, so they can narrow down the "selectees". I dont know what happens after that as I was told that the further testing had shown I wasnt the best match out off the people selected for further testing. I guess the person who was a closest match had to go on to do the actual transplant.
Regards
Mairi

Carol in Oz

Sorry dont have an answer for you Sarah, but what a wonderful thing to be able to do for someone else - possibly save their life. Good luck to you
Carol

nikkers

Hi Sarah

I worked in a bone marrow transplant unit but i looked after the recipient.The donor had to be in hospital before we gave them radiation as without a transplant they would die.Then the donor had a general anaesthetic and bone marrow was removed via needles into the hips etc you are sore the next day but nothing horrendous.Most donors I met were relatives it is hard to find a match with a stranger.My guess is the blood test is the only stage you will get too.

Any more news about the ex wife situation?

Nikki x

bazfer

Hi nikkers
which unit did you work in?
i was at mount vernon, in a satellite unit, hammersmith and the free in hampstead.
are you hoping to do bmt in oz?

renth

I had this too, it's just another blood test.

BTW you can join the Aussie bone marrow donor list when you get here but, paradoxically, you can't give blood because of mad cow concerns.

mary1

Hi Sarah,

I worked as an RN in BMT/Haematology for a few years.

If you are selected there are 2 ways they can collect your bone marrow cells.

1.They give you a general anaesthetic and remove some marrow from usually your hip bones ( bone marrow is mainly in your long bones/breast bone and hip bones).I've looked after a few donors and they just stayed in one night and they were okay.Ours were given an autologous blood transfusion i.e. a bag of blood that they had taken from themselves a couple of weeks beforehand just to boost their system.

2.You are given a course of injections under your skin of a drug called GCSF which stimulates your bone marrow to make loads of new white cells.You then are attached to a plasmapheresis machine (which removes the cells).It just means having a couple of needles in your arm and sitting in a chair for a couple of hours.

The advantages of 2 is that you don't need an anaesthetic.
The advantage of 1 is that you don't need the jabs to increase your blood counts and the cells can be frozen so they have a longer shelf life.

The patients were so grateful at getting a chance even if they didn't survive in the longterm.

teach

Thanks for all your replies. I had a long chat to blood people today. They have arranged for me to have some blood taken at my doctors next Wednesday. It's really sad, I asked if they were able to match a family member and she said all that she can say is they need to look further afield. Whether it's me or not I really hope they find a match. She is posting all info I need plus another questionaire. We filled in one over the phone today.
What I didn't realise was how slow the process is. They won't know if I'm a match for 6-8 weeks, then after that it could be as long as 2 months before anything happens. I can't even begin to imagine what someone goes through when they have to wait that long to know whether they have a chance of living or not. Hopefully I can be of some help.
Best wishes to you all.
Sarah

PS Nikkers, we are still waiting to hear something from agent. Thanks for asking.

spuds

Hi Sarah,

Just wanted to say that my best friend did this for a complete stranger and says it is one of the best things she ever did.

She stayed in one night after a GA and was pretty sore but otherwise ok. The man who's life she saved is doing really well.

Good luck! They do match strangers occassionally so wishing you all the best in whatever happens.

EmX