The Registry Works!

My wife ran into my doctor this morning while walking about the hospital. After exchanging pleasantries and having a discussion about setting up an appointment for me to meet the new head doctor of oncology, my wife asked my doctor what he thought about the possibilities of the match for my bone marrow transplant.

The doctor said the match is good news, of course, and then he went on to explain that out of the initial eight that were targeted from the registry for additional screening, there were actually two exact matches: the one MUD (Matched Unrelated Donor) that has us all excited, and one other. Unfortunately though, the one other match cannot be used. It cannot be used because the match is me.

The National Bone Marrow Registry and screening process really works. I do not remember when I registered but after all of these years it was still able to find me as a match for myself. Finding out I was a match for myself makes me both happy and a little sad. It makes me happy to know that the system works. No matter how long someone sits around in the system waiting, if their type is a match, they will be found. But it makes me sad in the sense that after all these years I was never found as a match for someone in need. And now, even if I come up as a match, I never can be of help, not even to myself.

Visit www.marrow.org for more information about the Bone Marrow Donor program.

Donor Update – 2/2/10

Email excerpt from my Bone Marrow Donor Coordinator:

Hello,
I emailed the information below to [Kurt’s doctors]; I am still hoping to find another match– but as of date we only have one.

Kurt Brindley MR # X-XXX-XX-XX:
has 2 haplo* sisters, 1 disparate** sister, 2 MUD [Matched Unrelated Donors] Mis- Matches and 1 MUD Match.

Sincerely,
[Bone Marrow Donor Coordinator]

– – – – – – – – – –

* When trying to match a sibling, a haplo match essentially means that she has only one of the tissue types contributed by either the mother or father. A haplo match is a half-match, so to speak, and may be used in a transplant if a full match cannot be found.

** When trying to match a sibling, a disparate match has neither of the tissue types contributed by either the mother or father. A disparate match cannot be used for a transplant.

The underlines for emphasis are mine.

Visit www.marrow.org for more information about the Bone Marrow Donor program.

Donor Update – 1/11/10

Email excerpt from my Bone Marrow Donor Coordinator:

I have found potential MUD [Matched Unrelated Donor] donors but I just requested the samples to be sent here for testing to see if they are fully matched. The samples are kept in the individual registry repository I do not have any planned arrival dates from the samples that are requested at this time. Once the sample arrives it can take 10-14 days before we know if it is a match.

The underlines for emphasis are mine. Updates will follow as they are received.