My sister has been asked about the process surrounding Stem Cell donation, so we thought we would both contribute to a post explaining what we have learned.

The following was written by Christi:
“I was told that some people are wondering about the process as a donor, so here is the technical lowdown…

First, they had all three siblings go for blood tests to see if there was a match. They only test siblings as the likelihood of another family member matching is extremely low. If no sibling matches, it makes more sense to go to the general donor bank. Even with siblings, there’s only a 25% chance of matching. When they are checking blood, they are comparing specific genetic markers and you have to match on at least 6 of these markers to donate. Mine was the first result to come back and we found out I was a match but we didn’t know the quality of that match yet. Somehow Barb’s sample from Australia arrived faster that Cam’s from Toronto (breakdown in the Postal or Medical system do you think??) and we found out that neither sample matched. After some disappointment about not being 4 solid matches to each other (which would have been incredibly rare), we realized that it really is a lot easier to have the sib who lives in town match Trish. Then we heard the news that we match on ALL 10 markers- phenomenal!!

Now for the quick overview of the actual donation: on the Sunday before ‘donation day’, I start receiving injections which cause my body to start overproducing stem cells. I receive an injection every day until I donate (the drug is called GCSF, for those of you who want to be really detailed). My bones become so saturated that the stem cells start leaking into my blood and that’s how they harvest the cells without going into my bone marrow *phewf*. I will get really sore bones and feel fluish-like symptoms. They normally harvest the stem cells by putting IVs in each arm- blood comes out of one, goes through a machine that filters out the stem cells (incredible!) and then goes back in through the other arm. Easy peasy! Apparently, though, I don’t have big enough veins for the GIANT needles and they have to do this whole process through the jugular vein in my neck (yep, they’re really going for the jugular!).

Once I have given the cells, they keep them over night and give them to Trish starting early the next morning.

And those are the technical bits behind donating my stem cells! Let’s hope they are strong ‘lil gals ;-)”
No kidding, I am praying Christis stem cells are fighters ;). It’s is such an incredibly detailed process to ensure they are at maximum fighting ability when they are introduced.   Not only are they giving Christi injections to increase the stem cell production, but I am receiving 2 types of Chemo for 3 days, 2 rounds of Total Body Radiation, and other meds to eliminate mine before hers are introduced.  Then, after the new stem cells are transplanted, I receive another chemo and meds to keep mine surprised while hers fight to take over.

Here are a couple other things I learned.

1.  There are soooo many people waiting for donors.  If you have the chance, consider being tested for the One Match program.  You could save someone’s life with your blood.

https://www.blood.ca/en/stem-cells?utm_source=onematch&utm_medium=redirect&utm_campaign=onematch

2.  There is funding needed for donors.  There are programs set up for transplant recipients through most of the cancer foundations, but nothing for donors.  The Alberta Government will pay to send someone to Germany to pick up stem cells from a donor for a hard to match recipient, but there is nothing set up to cover travel costs for someone from Edmonton to Calgary.  Seems odd?  We are very lucky to be able to open the search to the world for people who can’t find a match here, but my feeling is that we need to do more for donors.  Maybe this is an area I can look at helping when I rock this thing and become a “healthy person” again!

On a positive note, both my sister and I have been treated so well by the nurses and physicians at the Tom Baker Centre in Calgary.  They truly are such incredibly kind and caring people.

On another note, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to a very special member of our “team” Julie Symes 😉

-Trish xo