First off if you ever get chosen to be a selected person in the process, don’t hesitate it is really not dangerous nor will you regret your decision. In September 2008 I donated blood at my school and I was asked about joining the NDMP (National Donor Marrow Program), I willfully accepted the offer. Six weeks following my registration in the NDMP I received an email stating I was a “possible” match for a young 12 year old girl with leukemia. Now at first I thought this was a hoax and realized it wasn’t because that day I received a phone call from my (later on) bone marrow advisor. She said that I was a possible match and I would need to go into further testing to see if I was the best match. Which I did-they just took about 25 samples of blood, small ones. After about 3 weeks of the further testing my phone rang and the caller ID said NY Presbyterian Hospital, and I said to myself “is something wrong?”, was this bad news? I picked up the phone and a young lady said that I was a PERFECT match for this young lady for a bone marrow donation and they would like me to come in for a physical and other testing. After 3 or 4 days going to the hospital to see if I was fit for donating, a young nurse came to my house every day for about 5 days to inject a large amount of Neupogen twice a day. Now I didn’t just say lets do this, I had to go through a tremendous, I mean like 40 or so pages of signing different forms and risk assessments which I had no problem with. Neupogen is a inhibitor ( EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE like 40,000 dollars a treatment) that in simple terms raises the stem cells out of your bones, which in turn enters your blood stream. The injections were a little painful but nothing to worry about. After 4 days of injections I was really weak, it feels like you are getting older 20 years each day lol. I had some moderate pain in my lower back and legs, but was bearable. That Friday of that week I donated through the process of PBSC. Contrary to popular belief, donating bone marrow is usually not painful anymore unless there is a HUGE amount needed in a small amount of time. PBSC (Peripheral Blood Stem Cell) donation is basically the process of donating platelets but your giving your actual stem cells not platelets. Your blood is centrifuged in a machine which cycles out your stem cells into a bag with plasma and the other stuff (I am not sure what else because I am not a doctor lol). Depending on how old and how much stem cells your patient needs, lists how long you will be there for donating. Since my patient was young and didn’t really not a lot of stem cells I was sitting there for 3 hours which isn’t bad. Long story short, the donation went really well and I made a lot of really good friends donating that I still talk to today. The day of my donation they brought me in a room with other bone marrow donating people and other patients that were either receiving cells or getting cancer treatment. It was a life changing experience, and If I was called up to do it again I would. Join NDMP today and maybe one day you will get called. Oh yeah and good news yesterday I received a call from my advisor Kathie and she said the patient is doing extremely well and is producing her own cells off of mine. Yay!!!