I posted a few months back that I gave blood at work. This was super exciting, since this was the first time I weighed enough to give blood (and had the opportunity to do so). In addition to cookies, juice, and ice cream, they told me that they would let me know what my blood type is. Super cool.
A few weeks later, I got a card from Stanford's blood center, letting me know that I'm O+, and that they were in desperate need of O+ blood and bone marrow. So, every chance I've had to give blood since, I've tried.
(I'm battling my iron count. I'm trying to keep it high enough to donate every two months, so I'm taking iron supplements.)
Now, I think I'm going to try and get into the bone marrow registry. I need to do a little more reading on the subject, but mostly as to how to get in and whatnot.
Am I sure?
Oh, positive.
Friday, June 20, 2008
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Years ago, I worked at HBO which is part of Time Warner. There was a girl who was sick with leukemia and needed a bone marrow transplant. I gave a blood sample so I could try to be a match. Unfortunately, I wasn't. Fast forward about 15 years, and I was contacted by the registry that I might be a match for someone else. I had to get a second blood test to get a more detailed result. Again, not a match, but I was amazed that they were able to find me. I'd moved about 4 times since I was registered, but they are very determined to find people.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the O+ club. I give every time they call. I was looking into donating platelets too. It fascinates me that we can give of ourselves like this instead of just sending in a check.
ReplyDeleteI am O+ too! I have not given blood in forever, well not since I moved to the Bay Area. I should look into to it also.
ReplyDeletesilly people, they think I might be a mad cow... (I lived in England for too long) so they won't take any of mine - I found out when I was called up for platlet apherisis for a child in Oakland Childrens hospital that I was a match for (they needed it immediately) and discovered that they had a new question on the form... *sigh*
ReplyDeleteFive units of platelets (which you can donate more often than whole blood, but it takes longer to do) saved my daughter's life a year ago; she has an autoimmune version of hemophilia. Thank you thank you thank you, Jasmin. And they are studying bone marrow transplants for lupus patients and for the very first time have started to breathe the word "cured" around some of the people who've gone through it. I'm living for the day those studies progress to where they'd take me as a patient.
ReplyDeleteAnd how they harvest the bone marrow from donors is MUCH better and MUCH easier than how it used to be. The life you save could be hers or mine. THANK YOU JASMIN!!! And everybody else up there!!!
Hi there. :) I stumbled across your blog from no-blog-rachel's. Just stopping by the say that I really love your pink hair. I don't know if I would have the chutzpah to do that, though I want to.
ReplyDelete