Today was the day. The day the Stem Cells were given to Shane. As expected, it was a pretty big anti-climax. The cells arrived in a small bag, looking a little like milky tomato soup. They were administered through Shane's Hickman line in about 30-40mins. Shane slept through most of it due to his "premeds" knocking him out!
We are so grateful for the Donor of these. To donate stem cells (aka bone marrow) it is a process that takes a few days. Firstly they have to undergo further blood tests to check for blood typing and cytomegalovirus (CMV) status (a virus that can be re-activated during the transplant process). They are also tested for any major allergies. They also need to remain healthy during this time.
Then a few days prior to donating, the Donor must inject themselves with a drug called GCS-f. GCS-f stimulates the production of stem cells, and brings them out of the bone marrow. These injections can often cause some joint and bone pain (a bit like growing pains).
On the day they donate, they are hooked up to a machine that filters the stem cells out of the blood, and returns the blood back into their body. They can often be hooked up like this for up to eight hours. This process is called Apheresis. This process happened only yesterday!
The Donor has to remain anonymous but we know that he's an Australian male and 49 years old. Apparently he was very happy to help out! He was not paid for his cells, or his time off work, or his efforts. Travel costs would have been covered if necessary. So this was all done out of the goodness of his heart! What an amazing person!
Shane prior to his long snooze...
Getting connected at his smart sites.
Cells going through.
This is a Haematopoietic growth chart. You can see the Stem Cells (immature cells) at the top, and how many different blood cells that they can become. The cells in Shane that have gone awry are the B-Lymphocytes.
Shane is relatively well otherwise. His throat is still sore, and he still requires soft foods, but he has maintained some of his appetite. He had more energy than yesterday, so that is always a plus!
We had a lovely snuggle at 8pm this evening. "Think Positive for Shane" has been just so amazing. There really isn't much everyone can do to help out, but giving us that warm fuzzy feeling is much better than anything physical. Thank you to all who participated, and to everyone who have left comments for us on Facebook. It really makes such a big difference in our lives.
Thanks again to our anonymous Donor. You are a wonderful person!
xx
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