Paula P. is a member of VSP's Sales team.
Today we have a guest blog post from Paula P., a VSP Regional Sales Operations Manager, sharing her incredible story of being a match in the National Marrow Donor Program.
I participated in my second Red Cross blood drive at my daughter’s high school in May 2009. The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) was recruiting new members, so I joined, thinking it would be pretty awesome to help save a life. It was a simple process of swabbing my mouth and sealing the cells in a protective envelope. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing is used to match patients and donors. HLA proteins are found in most cells in your body.
Three months later, I was contacted as being a possible match and was asked to have blood drawn for further testing. One week later, I was notified that I was a match for a 42-year-old male with leukemia. That was amazing news. I was excited, but didn’t really know what to expect at that point.
The NMDP sent me information so that I could learn more about the program and make an informed decision whether to donate my bone marrow—a quart or so—which would be drawn from both hip bones. After an extensive health screening, my procedure was scheduled for October 27 at Scripps Green Hospital in La Jolla, CA.
I was kind of nervous, but figured it was meant to be, considering the odds and all the other things that can keep a match from being able to follow through with the procedure. Realizing how critical the timeline was for the recipient and how much he had to gain with a relatively small sacrifice on my part, I never doubted that I would go through with the procedure.
The pain following the two-hour procedure was tolerable enough—no major pain medication needed after being released the following day. After allowing myself plenty of rest, I was able to resume most of my normal daily activities less than one week later.
Almost everyone has been touched by a cancer story in one way or another. Of patients needing a transplant, 70% do not have a suitable donor in the family. That’s why the registry provides so much hope for so many patients. I encourage anyone in good health to join the “Be the Match Registry.” Getting more people on the registry will help the odds for so many cancer patients that have no other treatment options. As they say, timing is everything; I have since heard many stories of people never being contacted and I was a donor after only five months of joining the registry.
It isn’t every day we get the chance to save a life or make a difference. I look forward to hearing more about the recipient of my bone marrow. I hope to meet him one day.
For more information, visit marrow.org.
Paula is my Sister and I can’t explain how proud I am of her performing such a selfless act. I hope her recipient has a very Merry Christmas.
Very timely piece as I was touched by another story and registered as a donor I mailed my swabs in yesterday. My father was lucky enough to receive a heart via organ donation. He received it knowing someone else’s family was dealing with that grief. Marrow donations can save a life without giving one up. Great story