Two weeks until go-time!

It looks like everything is now good to go for the stem cell donation. Last week I had a physical exam, EKG, chest xray, blood and urine tests to make sure that I am healthy enough to go through with it. I passed! In a couple of weeks, I will start getting shots of filgrastim for five days. Filgrastim causes your body to release more stem cells into the bloodstream, which could then be collected on the fifth day. The most common side effect of filgrastim is bone and muscle pain.

The stem cells will be collected through a process called apheresis. Basically, blood is drawn from one arm, and goes into a machine which separates out the stem cells. The remaining blood is then returned into the second arm. The process should take 4-5 hours. To pass the time, there will be a TV/DVD player in front of my seat, so I should be able to get through a couple of movies while donating.

As soon as the stem cells are collected, someone from the bone marrow center will immediately hand-carry it on a plane to wherever in the world the patient is. The patient will have been going through a week of hardcore chemotherapy drugs to get her body ready to accept the stem cells. The transplant will happen upon arrival of the stem cells. It's pretty amazing how all this works, specifically how the timing is synchronized between donor and patient.

Are you on the bone marrow registry? It is so easy is to join. A simple form, a few health questions, and a swab from your cheek is all it takes. It can even be done over the phone and through the mail, if you can't make it to a center in person. In addition, due to the great need of minorities in the registry, all minorities and mixed-race individuals can join the registry for free. Check out marrow.org for more details, and feel free to contact me if you have any questions. For those in the Bay Area, you can simply let me know if you're interested, and I can have Stanford Blood Center contact you directly to join.