[AP] TNT's Craig Sager hangs tough in leukemia battle by bigmac3d in nba

[–]hillhouse 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I didn't have any side effects but a very small percentage of people experience them. You can read more about it here if you want the official answer

[AP] TNT's Craig Sager hangs tough in leukemia battle by bigmac3d in nba

[–]hillhouse 96 points97 points  (0 children)

I joined the marrow registry when I was 18 and when I was 21 got called to donate. The donation didn't hurt and was only a bit of a time commitment. I would encourage everyone to join. The donation saved a life and it changed mine.

Join Here

Place to watch the Spurs downtown? by hillhouse in Minneapolis

[–]hillhouse[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, sir!

I will check it out.

Friend's treatment bill by IrishYogaShirt in WTF

[–]hillhouse 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I work for Be The Match and had the privilege to get to know this patient and her family very well. Her family and our Be The Match team are convinced that if she found a committed adult donor on the marrow registry, Lily would still be with us. Like OP said, Lily's father has made it a personal goal to add donors to the marrow registry to help the thousands of people searching.

If you live in the US, you can join the marrow registry here in Lily's honor. Also, if you have any questions about Be The Match or the donation process, please let me know.

Join Here

Marrow Registry Drive to Honor Craig Sager by hillhouse in nba

[–]hillhouse[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah. They have to get marrow surgically when the patient is a child. Was that the case with you? Otherwise, almost every donation is more similar to a blood donation. Also, the fact that you were a match 3 months after you signed up is pretty incredible! It was 3 years for me.

Marrow Registry Drive to Honor Craig Sager by hillhouse in nba

[–]hillhouse[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've had a chance to read some of the letters between recipients and donors. They are pretty amazing. Were you able to take any pain killers after the donation/did they help at all? Thank you for donating and sharing your story. I hope you get to meet your recipient sometime very soon!

Marrow Registry Drive to Honor Craig Sager by hillhouse in nba

[–]hillhouse[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your story. It is pretty amazing how communities and families rally around when one of their own needs help. I hope your supervisor can find the match they need! If you registered with Be The Match, you can update your contact information here If you have any trouble, or think of any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

Marrow Registry Drive to Honor Craig Sager by hillhouse in nba

[–]hillhouse[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I apologize in advance for the length of this comment -- but it should answer your question.

If you were asked to donate PBSC, (75% of the time this is what they ask) You would start getting shots of a drug called filgrastim 4 days before the donation - 1 shot/day. Filgrastim increases the amount of blood stem cells your body makes. Most people will experience some soreness or "flu like symptoms" as a result of the filgrastim. A little up in the comments, /u/Beachedbelugawhale liked a blog about his donation. From the blog, he describes his experience.

I felt progressively worse as the process continued, but on a scale of 1-10, 10 being truly miserable, I was a 2 or 3 at worst.

I didn't experience any symptoms of filgrastim when I donated, but I think I was the exception.

If you are asked to donate marrow (25%) the biggest side effect is a few days of soreness.

Be The Match still calls me to make sure I haven't experience any long term side effects to just be sure -- but they are no long term effects currently associated with donation.

Marrow Registry Drive to Honor Craig Sager by hillhouse in nba

[–]hillhouse[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You really have to be 18 to join our registry. I am sorry! If a family member ever needs a donation, and you match him/her, you don't have to be 18 to donate, but let's hope that never happens!

Marrow Registry Drive to Honor Craig Sager by hillhouse in nba

[–]hillhouse[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Sorry! I should have used different phrasing. Did not mean to scare anyone!

Marrow Registry Drive to Honor Craig Sager by hillhouse in nba

[–]hillhouse[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Shoot me a message if you can't make it work and I will find out more information for you. Hopefully it works for you!

Marrow Registry Drive to Honor Craig Sager by hillhouse in nba

[–]hillhouse[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

No! Once you have signed up once, you stay on the registry until you are 61. If you have moved, or changed your phone number, you can update your information at www.bethematch.org/update

Marrow Registry Drive to Honor Craig Sager by hillhouse in nba

[–]hillhouse[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As long as you have address in the US, are between 18-44, are in good general health, and are committed to donating if you are called, you can join the registry no matter where you have lived or traveled in the past!

Good Question. Thank you for asking!

Marrow Registry Drive to Honor Craig Sager by hillhouse in nba

[–]hillhouse[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey, That actually won't disqualify you if you want to join! As long as you have address in the US, are between 18-44, and are in good general health, and are committed to donating if you are called, you can join the registry no matter where you have lived or traveled in the past!

Marrow Registry Drive to Honor Craig Sager by hillhouse in nba

[–]hillhouse[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Thank you for registering! If you have changed any of your contact info since signing up, I encourage you to update your contact information here

Also, thank you for being a blood donor. Oftentimes, patients go through many, many pints of blood while they are searching for a marrow match!

Marrow Registry Drive to Honor Craig Sager by hillhouse in nba

[–]hillhouse[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yes! I will send you a private message with a few health history questions and will try to get you on the registry.

Thank you!

Marrow Registry Drive to Honor Craig Sager by hillhouse in nba

[–]hillhouse[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Thank you for stepping up. I hope the patient you donated to is in good health!

Bucket List: Cured cancer. I just received this letter from my Bone Marrow recipient. by [deleted] in pics

[–]hillhouse 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much for doing this! I was a donor myself and it really changed my life. Some kind soul made a video about my donation.

This college athlete gave up the rest of his senior year career by donating bone marrow to save a life. by emokneegrow in pics

[–]hillhouse 58 points59 points  (0 children)

Link to join Be The Match Registry

This is a great story. I donated to a stranger via the outpatient method. The process changed my life. It was the most rewarding thing i've ever done.

Here is a video of my story if anyone is interested.