When and how did you find out you had matched with someone?

This May I got a text message from a random number saying, "I've got some exciting news, you've been matched". At first, I thought it was spam but when I opened the text it mentioned Be the Match and gave me a number to call. So, I called right away! They explained what being a match looks like and asked if I was still interested. And then they started scheduling appointments! 

What information, if any, were you given about your recipient? 

The only information I was given was that she was a 41-year-old female with acute myeloid leukemia living in the United States.

Tell us about the process of preparing to be a stem cell donor once you have matched.

I received the text at the end of May and I think the month of June I had at least one kind of appointment every week. The first thing I had to do was get labs drawn to see if I was the closest match. Normally, every patient matches with at least two people from the registry, and both get labs drawn to see who’s the closest match. I was the perfect match! So, then I had more labs drawn and got a physical to make sure I was healthy enough to donate. I also had to go a couple extra times to get my blood drawn and make sure there was no chance I was pregnant before I started my filgrastim shots. During this month, I also had multiple phone calls from my care coordinator Meaghan who was amazing. She answered all questions, explained what to expect, and she made every appointment based off my availability. My recipient's team asked for a two-day donation July 5th and 6th because they wanted twice the amount of stem cells. Meaghan told me she had to find a donation center that was available for those days, and that I could be traveling anywhere in the country. Be the Match would've handled all lodging and travel expenses, but I was lucky enough to stay in Illinois! The five days leading up to my donation I had to start my filgrastim injections to boost my stem cell count. My sister and I are both nurses, so she helped me self-administer the injections at home. I had intermittent bone pain and headaches during the injections, but it felt very insignificant when thinking of what my recipient was going through. 

What was the the actual donation process like?

The donation process was seamless! I could not say more good things about my donation center and the staff. It was an early morning start so they could draw labs to check my counts, give my last filgrastim injections, and insert the IVs they'd need for the donation. I needed two points of access, and one needle was going to be significantly bigger than the other, so they put numbing cream on my arm and sent my sister and I off to breakfast. That numbing cream worked magic! They got the bigger catheter in without me feeling a thing and then we were ready to start. They hooked me up to a pheresis machine that would take my blood, remove the stem cells and some plasma, and give the rest back to me. The donation process took a total of 8 hours, but they were able to get all the cells they needed in one day instead of two. The day after my donation I was very fatigued, but I was back to normal two days later! My coordinator called me two days after, one week after, and one month after to check in and make sure I was still feeling okay! 

What were the emotional aspects of matching with someone and what did this mean to you?

I feel like this experience was such a roller coaster of emotions! Being a nurse I have taken care of so many patients that either need or have already received a stem cell transplant and I know the hope it gives that patient and their family. It amazed me that my body was able to mass produce cells to give to somebody else. I shared a lot of the process on Instagram as I was going through it in hopes I could get others to join the registry too. So many people either signed up or had told me they’ve been on the registry for years, people are AMAZING and so selfless. This is such a minor thing to put your body through when it comes to giving someone a second chance at life. I feel like I learned so much about myself in the process. I am so privileged to be healthy, to be alive, and to be able to give back. It was such an honor to be able to help someone in such a big way.  I was definitely feeling emotional at the end of my donation day knowing that somewhere in the United States there was a woman in the hospital waiting for their arrival. I find myself constantly thinking about her and hope that she’s healing and as happy and as healthy as can be right now.

If anyone reading this isn’t on The Be the Match Registry yet PLEASE consider joining. It is so easy! They send a swab in the mail with a return envelope, you swab your cheek, and send it back. So easy and so worth it. Five years from now you could be someone’s perfect match too!