My PBSC Donations

Another update on "Jack"...

Mon, 4 Dec 2006 22:30:30 -0800

Unfortunately, this is going to be my final update on “Jack”... he died sometime in November 2006, about 8 months after the transplant.

It turns out that Diane had left me a message about wanting to talk to me when she heard the news, but I never got it.

With the holiday season coming up, I thought it would be nice to send cards to both my recipients:

“Dear recipient, I hope this card finds you healthy and in good spirits...”

When I stopped by Diane and Derek’s office to drop off the cards (remember, I can’t send anything to my recipients directly -- everything has to go anonymously through he NMDP), Diane first seemed surprised (why is he showing up with two cards?!?!), then realized what was going on, pulled me into an office, gave me a hug, and told me that “Jack” has died. I’m glad she pulled me aside before telling me -- it gave me a couple of minutes to compose myself...

Thankfully, everyone in California wears sunglasses everywhere (even the nerds!) -- nobody looked twice as I left Diane’s office, nor when I got to work.

I took “Jack’s” card back home with me, and don’t know what to do with it now. It wouldn’t feel right to just throw it away, but I don’t want to keep it, and I don’t want to send it to the family...

Update on “Jack”

Fri, 18 Aug 2006 20:38:36 -0700

Irma emailed me to do the 6-month followup of my donation earlier this year. She also had a short update on “Jack”: he’s alive and recovering well! That’s fantastic news!

I’m being transfered back to the Stanford Blood Center, where my followups can be consolidated. Recall that they want to do annual blood draws from me to make sure I’m OK, and to study the long-term effects the Neupogen might have had.

Easter card from “Jackie”

Fri, 19 May 2006 20:34:12 -0700

Diane called to tell me that there was a card from my first recipient -- did I want to come pick it up, or should she mail it to me? I work about 3 minutes’ drive from the Stanford Blood Center, so of course I high-tailed it down there!

I got an Easter card from “Jackie”! She’s alive, well, and wrote the actual card I was holding in my hands! I couldn’t believe it. She was remembering the second anniversary of her transplant -- wow, time flies. I’m glad she’s well. Her transplant center must be really paranoid about me finding out who she is. They used a black marker and then white-out to edit out some stuff she wrote. Yikes!

I’ll have to write back.

Finished with second donation

Thu, 23 Feb 2006 20:29:03 -0800

I did my second donation in late February. Things went pretty much as they did in March 2004, with some minor differences: this time, my Neupogen dose was a bit higher (about 10% or so -- I don't remember exactly). Apparently, it is calculated based on my current weight. I guess I should not have worn my heavy shoes onto the scale... I may have gained a pound or two (OK, three...) in the last 2 years, but not 10% of my bodyweight! Really!!

This time around, the bone and head aches kicked in earlier (on the second day), probably due to the higher Neupogen dose, but Tylenol took care of everything. Also, I was REALLY tired -- I can't remember the last time I went to bed at 9pm, but that whole week, I was pretty much asleep by 10pm at the latest each night.

I met a couple of people who were donating for their siblings, and I was glad to talk to them about my earlier experience, so they could get a feel for what to expect. That's also what inspired me to do this writeup in the first place.

They want me to donate for another recipient!

Thu, 1 Dec 2005 20:22:08 -0800

I've been through the blood draws, etc.

Diane called to tell me that the recipient’s doctors have selected me to be the donor! It'll be PBSC again, probably in January or February 2006. This time around, my donor center will be one operated directly by the NMDP, because the recipient has enrolled in an experimental treatment, and I'm considered a subject as well (although nothing changes from my perspective). My donor coordinator is Irma. The injections and actual donation still happen at Stanford, though, so there really are very few differences for me when compared to last time.