And Maybe You Can Save A Life Too!
by Michele Russell
As many of you already know, I was diagnosed with late-stage non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1993. At the time there was no cure and little they could do but give me high dose chemotherapy with the hope of buying me some time. In 1995 I received a transplant using my own stem cells with the same goal. It was grueling, but it granted me 18 months of remission. After that came many more treatments, but the remissions grew shorter in duration and the treatments became more frequent.
In 2001 the brilliant doctors at Sloan Kettering Cancer Center told me of a new treatment they said was "potentially curable." It was another transplant, this time using donor bone marrow. I quickly said, "Sign me up!" For the following months we searched for a donor within my family. I was devastated to discover no one matched me. But soon, the best news I could ever hope for arrived. A near perfect match was found when searching the international database of those who had signed up to be bone marrow donors.
Late September that same year I had my second transplant. It was an immediate success. My donor's marrow became my new immune system that saw the cancer as an unwelcome foreign substance and destroyed it. Amazing.
All I knew of my donor at the time of the transplant was that he was a young man with a huge, generous heart. We named him, "Gabriel," as he truly was my angel. When we saw how large the bag containing his marrow was we nicknamed him, "Stem-Stud." He and I had to wait two years before being allowed to learn anything about each other, and we each had to agree to release our personal information. Luckily he wanted to know me as much as I wanted to know him.
In late October of 2003 I got a packet full of information and letters from my donor and his family. I was jumping-on-the-couch-elated! I discovered that my wonderful, lifesaving donor was a 24-year-old student named Martin from, of all places, Germany. After reading the letters, I saw that his phone number was included and I called him right away. Thank God he spoke English!
His family invited me to visit them in their village of Lenningen for Christmas. Instead, I flew to Germany that New Years Eve and met Martin in person New Years morning, 2004. We had not exchanged photos, but immediately recognized each other at the airport, feeling as if we'd known each other all our lives.The first words I learned to say in German before my trip were, "Thank you." And I said them over and over again during that trip, and the past 8 years. How does one thank someone for saving their life, no less a complete stranger? I still feel it difficult to adequately express my full gratitude.
What I didn't know at the time of my second transplant was that a German based organization named DKMS was responsible for Martin being able to save my life. DKMS, or "Deutsche Knochenmarkspenderdatei" (which means "German Bone Marrow Donor Center" in English) was founded in 1991 by Peter Harf after he and his doctors were unable to identify a bone marrow donor for his wife. Though she died from leukemia, Mechtild Harf's family was determined to help save others.
In early 2001 Martin and his family registered with DKMS during a donor drive to save the life of a young girl in their area suffering from leukemia. Six months later DKMS contacted him saying he would be a good match for a woman in America and asked if he would be willing to donate his marrow to me. DKMS paid for and managed all the logistics for Martin's testing, the harvesting of his marrow, and flying it over night to my hospital bedside.
Eight years later I am happy to say I am still cancer free, and 100% donor marrow, which also means that if the cancer returns the doctors at Sloan-Kettering can inject me with T-cells extracted from Martin's blood which will go straight to the cancer cells and destroy them. Again, all I can say is, amazing.
Christmas is just around the corner and during this most meaningful season we try to find extra special ways to give to those in need. Here at our Center we thought what better way than to inspire as many as we can to become bone marrow donors, which is why I've shared my story with you. There is no greater gift you can give than to save a life.
Recently, DKMS opened an office in New York. Headed by Peter Harf's daughter, Katharina, DKMS Americas make it easier for folks from our side of the Atlantic to enter and access their donor database. Getting your name and marrow typing information into this database is simple.
You start by knowing this is the most fantastic thing you can possibly do, and then click on this link to access the DKMS Americas' web site.
There you'll find a few simple questions that will determine if you are eligible to become a donor. Next you'll get a donor kit in the mail that will have two mouth swabs. That's it; just like on "CSI," you only have to swab the inside of your cheeks, put the swabs into the provided containers and mail them back using the enclosed, postage paid bag. There is a $65 "typing" fee that covers the cost of testing the necessary elements of your provided sample. This fee is not mandatory, so please do not let it keep you from registering.
Also on the DKMS web site you'll find pages of heart-stirring information about their history, their mission, the many patients they are helping, the terrific donors who have saved people's lives, and the staggering statistics that clearly show the need for more registered donors. You'll also find more stories like mine that will further convince you how completely worthwhile your efforts will be.
We're going to create a page on our web site that tracks how many folks from our community register to become donors, so please do let us know when you get into the database. And of course, we'll share all the news of the resulting transplants.
As corny as this may sound, not a day goes by that I don't think of my bone marrow twin, Martin, and how completely lucky I am that one day he decided to volunteer as a possible donor. I look at my family and friends, at the changing of the leaves, the way the wind ripples the surface the Sound, or even just an oil-slick-rainbow in a parking lot puddle, and think of how much I would be missing if it were not for him. My joy of having survived because of him could only be surpassed by the delight of knowing I did the same thing for someone else, but of course, because of my health history, I cannot. But you can, and I hope that you do register. If you are lucky enough to match a patient in need, I promise, it will be one of the best experiences of your life.
And by the way, that little girl in Lenningen who needed the transplant that brought Martin's family to the donor drive that day is alive, cancer free, and thriving! Merry Christmas.
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