Every three minutes in the U.S., someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer, and 70 percent of patients rely on strangers to be matching donors. Oklahoma Christian University’s Eagles Health Initiative (EHI) partners with the organization DKMS to encourage students to swab their cheeks and register as donors at a Delete Blood Cancer (DBC) event. So far, at least four students have successfully matched and donated.
Oklahoma Christian alumni Sean Bolin registered with DKMS in 2016. Bolin said he knew it was the right thing to do, and he experienced a similar feeling to buying a lottery number. While EHI sometimes offers incentives for students to swab their cheeks, Bolin said two things motivated him to register.
“The first was a powerful story from [Olympian] Earl Young and the chance someone else gave him at life,” Bolin said. “The second motivating factor came from an experience with a longtime family friend who was diagnosed with a blood and bone-based cancer back in 2010 or 2011. He ended up getting a donor and bone marrow transplant in 2012 and was in remission before the cancer came back in 2014—he got two extra years that he was able to spend with his family that was not thought possible before the transplant.”
Bolin said he received an email from DKMS saying he had been matched in April 2017, and by Oct. 2017, he started the bone marrow stimulant and flew to his donation site with his mom for the donation procedure.
“The procedure itself is called a peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) donation, where they hook you up to an apheresis machine—if you have given plasma before, it is the same machine they use for that—and filter out the cells needed for the transplant,” Bolin said. “The process usually takes six to eight hours, but for some reason mine took just over four so that was neat.”
DKMS’s mission is to help every blood cancer patient find a matching donor, and the organization has registered over 8 million potential donors worldwide.
“DKMS is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the fight against blood cancer and blood disorders by: creating awareness; recruiting bone marrow donors to provide a second chance at life; raising funds to match donor registration costs; supporting the improvement of therapies through research; and supporting patients from day one of their diagnoses,” the DKMS website said.
According to Bolin, he was not given much information about the person he matched with except for approximate age, gender and cancer type.
“There is an automatic one year waiting period before you get to have any other interaction with your person, if both you and they agree to it,” Bolin said. “I was notified when the transplant had taken place and that they were recovering but have not gotten any other information since then.”
According to Bolin, his friends and family did not confront him with any hesitations concerning his donation. He said he believes support is an important factor in the process, and he would love to be a support for anyone who is going through this process.
“The actual donation itself wasn’t all that bad, it was just kind of long,” Bolin said. “The worst of it came from the bone marrow stimulant injections you receive a week before the donation. It just makes you feel like you’re an 80-year-old with mild to severe arthritis, which was totally manageable. [There’s] nothing really to be scared about and nothing life threatening. It’s done nothing but bring a little more light into my life, and it can do the same for you.”
Senior Brandon Reed, EHI’s coordinator, said he believes DKMS is a great way for the Oklahoma Christian community to make an immense impact on the lives of people in need.
“DBC has been a wonderful event that we have hosted each year during Earn Your Wings, and it really gives the incoming freshmen a chance to make their mark right off the bat as an OC student,” Reed said. “Additionally, I think that DBC really lets the incoming freshmen know what OC and our spirit of community is all about. Overall, I think that DBC is a great service and a great way for us as OC students to share Christ’s love to the world.”
The next DBC event will be during Earn Your Wings this August, but people interested in getting involved can register and donate online.
0
0
Be First to Comment