Taking the Plunge – A Marrow Donor’s Story
November 16, 2016
You aren’t a first responder, an emergency room physician, or an alpine rescue volunteer. But you have something that could save another’s life. Would you share it, knowing you might lose a little time and endure some discomfort?
To be precise – would you take the plunge to save a stranger?
In this, National Marrow Awareness Month, organizations like Minneapolis-based Be the Match hope you would.
Kaela Anderson was a student athlete at the University of Minnesota when she joined the Be the Match Registry at a 2012 HopeDay Festival sponsored by the University athletic department. As a competitive swimmer she was discouraged from committing to any activity that could affect her training or performance.
But Kaela felt a pull. An inner voice suggested that, rather than being a mistake, joining the registry would be a blessing. So the young woman who not only has a fear of needles, but also has a physical reaction to donating blood, said, “I’m in.”
The call came in March 2015. Kaela had been matched with an 8-year-old girl who was dying from an aggressive form of leukemia.
The former swimmer took the plunge. In June 2015 she traveled to Washington D.C., where she underwent testing to ensure she was physically qualified to donate her bone marrow.
Her eligibility confirmed, she went into the experience with high expectations and the same determination she’d applied to swimming. Failure wasn’t an option. She hoped her marrow would save the child and one day they would meet.
Donation day brought nervousness reminiscent of competition days. But with support flowing from family, friends, and co-workers, Kaela underwent the 45-minute procedure. Doctors extracted a liter of bone marrow from her hip while she slept. It was later transferred to the recipient.
The process was seamless. Kaela recovered quickly, running a 5k race 10 days after the extraction. She eagerly awaited updates about the patient whose identity and place of residence remained a mystery. A month after the transplant Kaela received encouraging news: the patient was beginning to accept Kaela’s cells and to produce healthy ones of her own. The transplant was working.
Kaela sent gifts, cards, and updates on her own recovery. But she heard nothing. In October, anxious for an update, she contacted the organization that had facilitated her donation. Days later she got another call – this one far different from the one that had set the process in motion. She was crushed to learn the child had succumbed to an infection. She hadn’t expected to become so attached to someone she never met.
Questions plagued her. What did she do wrong? Was it her fault? Kaela felt as though the piece of herself she had shared with the child had died along with her.
Kaela’s heart remains heavy over the loss. But she takes solace in knowing her gift provided hope and time to the girl and her family.
Moreover, the experience helped her to find her purpose in life. Time spent at many HopeDay Festivals helped her to realize how much being around children and families means to her. Now a member of the development team at the University of Minnesota Foundation, she raises money so that other children and families can have the best possible experience during stays at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital.
Though she did not donate through Be the Match, Kaela has joined its speakers bureau. Sharing her experience and insight has helped her to heal. She makes a point of encouraging athletes to join the registry. Their good health and conditioning makes them prime donors, she has learned.
Though she began her journey by helping one patient, her focus today is much broader. Now she is helping thousands of people to get involved.
Would she take the plunge again? Absolutely. As soon as another opportunity arises she will jump on it.
What about you? If the call came, would you take the plunge?