Editor’s Note: This is part one in a two-part series about bone marrow donations and UNH
Last spring, Amira Kabbara was encouraged by her sisters of Alpha Phi to go to a bone marrow drive being held in the MUB as a way of giving back to the community.
“We like to do a lot of community service and we figured that it was another great way to help out,” Kabbara said in an email.
While at the bone marrow drive, Kabbara and her roommates were told that the chance of being a match for a patient was one in 25,000. This statistic discouraged Kabbara, who had talked with her roommates beforehand about being excited about the possibility of saving a life.
In September, Kabbara received a call from DKMS Americas, the largest bone marrow donor center in the world, and was informed that she was a match for a 60-year-old man suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The junior psychology major was stunned.
“I honestly was shocked and so excited,” said Kabbara.
The bone marrow drive was held by Giovanni’s Team, a recognized student organization on campus that was formed in the fall of 2006. The organization is dedicated to holding bone marrow drives in search of potential matches for suffering patients in need of transplants. So far, Kabbara has been their only match out of 500 potential donors.
“We’re so excited,” said junior Lynette Boutin, co-founder of Giovanni’s Team. “It’s just awesome. I can’t even explain how it feels.”
Marianne Fortescue, the faculty advisor to Giovanni’s Team and transplant recipient herself, said she cried when she found out about the potential match.
“I was so excited,” said Fortescue. “We’ve been waiting for this for years.”
Fortescue, whose daughter attended Dover High School with Kabbara, said she was happy to find out Kabbara was the match.
“She’s a great person,” said Fortescue.
A bone marrow drive is a rather simple process. A potential donor fills out paperwork and has both cheeks swabbed. From there, the samples are mailed to DKMS Americas for tests to determine if the donor is a possible match. Since Kabbara was a possible match, she was called for more testing.
“I was incredibly nervous,” Kabbara said. “I was so scared of needles and especially things near my veins. I knew that I had to get over my fear.”
Getting over her fear began with two blood tests in November, testing her for infectious diseases and making sure she was the best match for the patient. Later that month, DKMS called her to tell her there may be better matches than her, but it eventually turned out that she was the best match.
Next was her three hour physical exam on Dec. 7 at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Kabbara said the exam consisted of collecting a thorough medical history, more blood work, an electrocardiogram test, a chest exam, and a urine analysis. All of these tests were free of cost.
“Amazingly enough, through all my procedures, DKMS Americas covered all of the cost, which was amazing,” said Kabbara.
On Dec. 17, she returned to Dana Farber to receive her first injections.
“These injections were given in my stomach and are designed to increase the production of stem cells, white blood cells and red blood cells,” she said. “When there is an excess of cells in the bone, the bone will release them into the blood stream, thus allowing for collection.”
Four days later at 7 a.m., the donation process began. After taking more blood to make sure her white blood cell count was high enough, a plastic needle was put in her hand, in order to return her red blood cells and calcium. Then, a thick metal needle was inserted into her left arm, drawing the blood. The procedure lasted just over eight hours.
“After being hooked up to the machine for eight hours and five minutes, I was exhausted,” said Kabbara.
As for side effects, she said that the only time she was bothered was during the injections.
“I experienced some bone pain, but it was not all bad,” she said. “Other than that, I didn’t experience any other side effects.”
Because of strict privacy policies, all Kabbara knows about her match is that he is 60 years old and that he has leukemia. As of right now, they can only communicate through letters that don’t contain any personal information. After a year, they can both sign a contract in order to communicate more personally.
“Just recently, I got an email saying that the patient has started to produce white, red and stem cells and has been discharged from the hospital,” she said.
Looking back on the donation experience, Kabbara said she would do it all again.
“I feel honored and truly lucky to be part of such an amazing process,” she said. “I would do it again in a heartbeat.”
Follow Geoffrey Cunningham on Twitter at www.twitter.com/geoffc2112
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