Bone Marrow Donations: Not For the Super Brave Anymore Because of Stem Cell Progress!

June 26, 2013 Voice Your Opinions! Letters to the editor make a difference. You can send a 175-word letter to the Anchorage Daily News by e-mail (letters@adn.com); or by fax or mail (call them at 257-4300). Send letters to the Anchorage Press via e-mail editor@anchoragepress.com or by mail to 540 E. Fifth Ave, Anchorage, 99501. Feel free to call us if you need factual information to help you write a letter. Contact the Governor. The Governor can be reached at 269-7450; sean.parnell@alaska.gov; or www.alaska.gov. Contact us. My office can be reached at: 716 W. 4th Ave, Anchorage, AK 99501; by phone: 269-0106; visit my website at http://gara.akdemocrats.org; or email: Rep.Les.Gara@akleg.gov

Dear Neighbors,

         Difficult times sometimes have a way of improving life for all of us. That’s the case of Dr. Matt Dudley, a very well-liked doctor who for a long time needed a bone marrow transplant to help him fight leukemia. It used to be that people didn’t want to go through a painful procedure to donate marrow to help people like Matt. But now you can be a chicken, I mean, “pain adverse”, and donate.

         So - pain adverse people of the world celebrate!

         Through his family’s trials and tribulations – he now has found matches that will hopefully work – we’ve learned it’s no longer difficult and painful to donate bone marrow to help people with leukemia and other blood disorders.

         Don’t care yet? Well, Matt has some compelling things to say:

         “Losing control of your life at the age of 37 was extremely difficult. Going from a productive physician to being a patient was difficult, but the diagnosis of leukemia is no matter what your position is in life. The idea that someone can save me or any other person with Leukemia/Lymphoma with a fairly simple act of stem cell donation is phenomenal. The act of just signing up for marrow donation is very touching to me and the thousands of other patients, family members, and supporting friends who are dealing with this disease. Please take the time to look at either my Caringbridge site (caringbridge.org search Matt Dudley), or Bethematch.org. The truth is that signing up gives the chance of life back to someone struggling with the loss of control of their life. Thank you.”

         Want to be a donor? You’ll get a trip to Seattle out of it since they don’t do all the work needed in Alaska. Potential donors can call 1-800-MARROW2 or go to (http://bethematch.org/Home.aspx) with any questions about the program or donation procedures.

         So how does this work? Easy as pie (because it takes me about this long to make a pie). Basically, you ask for a swab test (one will be mailed to you if there is not a local drive going on at the time). This gives the smart medical folks a clue whether your marrow is the type that is needed. Then, if it is, you’ll get a call for an all expenses trip to Seattle, with a family member. It’s like a game show, but you win without guessing the price of a couch, and you get to do good.

         Here’s what you’ll do on your trip. For four days leading up to the donation the donor gets a daily injection which causes the body to overproduce stem cells. Whether the injections take place in Anchorage or Seattle depends on various factors such as the possibility of inclement weather and the donor’s access to medical facilities. On day five the donor goes to the clinic in Seattle. One line draws blood from one arm, the blood passes through a machine, the stem cells are extracted, and a second line goes into the other arm which returns the blood to the donor minus the stem cells. The procedure is similar to platelet and plasma donations. Donors can get back to daily activities pretty quickly. There is also the original surgical method if you want to go that route. However, you have to be willing and able to undergo either procedure. Younger donors are more likely to be asked to donate. However, if you are over the age of 45, meet health guidelines, and are willing to donate to any patient in need, you can still join the registry and get a call for help. As a result of outreach efforts, the odds of a person needing a bone marrow transplant have increased slightly. A few years ago about 10,000 transplants per year were happening. Now it is up to about 12,000. Let’s make that number higher. Signing up is now on my summer to do list.

         With that, cheers. Good Luck to Matt! And I hope you’ll let me know if I can help with anything.

My Best,