You are a Marrow Match!

Yes! My tissue type has been found to be a match.

A couple of years back I volunteered to be part of a Marrow donor program and submitted my DNA samples. I know what you must be thinking DNA sample?? but it was just a cotton swab rub on the inside of my cheek, a saliva sample infact, nothing fancy. So a few days back I was contacted by the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), stating my tissue type has matched a patient.
What does this mean? This means after a few more tests if I am found to be a match, then my blood will be able to help someone recover or atleast stay healthy from a disease like Leukemia. I had to answer a long list (~50) of questions which ranged from past medical history to tattoos and piercing. Finally an appointment was made for blood sample collection for further tests. Today a blood sample (a really big sample ~ 100 ml) was collected from both my arms which will undergo some more tests for the second phase of matching. There are still many ifs lurking around. They will check for any infectious disease and the HLA (Human Leukocyte antigens) match. A document was given explaining the procedure and relevant information. Now I have to wait for a few weeks before the test results are in. At this stage there is a 8% chance that I will end up being the donor.
I am both excited and scared to some extent. The donation will be made using one of the two process.

1. The Bone Marrow is collected using a hollow needle, from the pelvis bone while the donor is under anesthesia. The recovery time is about 3 days before normal physical activity resumes. The marrow is replenished in 4-6 weeks.
2. The second procedure called PBSC (peripheral blood stem cells) requires injecting the drug filgrastim 5 times (once daily) before the day of collection. This increases the stem cell production. The blood is then removed from one arm, passed though a filter to collect stem cells and then returned in the other arm. There is no anesthesia and the donor is all set soon after the procedure.

This would be my first major medical procedure and its making me a little anxious, but the fact that I would be able to contribute to someone's well being in such a direct manner is a great feeling. But as I said there are still many iffs lurking around. I sincerely hope the patient finds the right match, whether it be me or someone else and recovers soon. Due to their privacy laws neither the patient or the donor is given much information about the other. I might know the age, sex and the disease of the patient and that's about it.
Lets wait and see.
Thanks for reading and I encourage you all to be part of such volunteer organization. Donating money is one thing, but donating a part of yourself to save someone is a feeling which just cannot be expressed in words. Its no longer a passive after thought, but an act of being human and feel human. All it needs is some commitment.
Join here

All the information is available on their website too:
http://www.marrow.org/DONOR/When_You_re_Contacted_as_a_Pos/index.html
http://www.marrow.org/DONOR/When_You_re_Contacted_as_a_Pos/How_Donors_Are_Selected/index.html
http://www.marrow.org/DONOR/When_You_re_Contacted_as_a_Pos/Medical_Guidelines/index.html
http://www.marrow.org/DONOR/When_You_re_Asked_to_Donate_fo/index.html