Donation

I'm a very proud daughter this morning.  Yesterday, my Dad donated bone marrow!  He's been donating blood for years and one of the more recent options there was to be tested for bone marrow compatibility.  Dad ticked the option and recently received the call that a match had been found.

The process involved an interview and some tests followed a couple of weeks later by the procedure.  There are two ways to donate bone marrow.  You can have a series of injections followed by a blood donation or you can donate directly under general anaesthetic.  Dad opted for the latter so that it would be less hassle.  

The procedure had to take place in London but luckily he was there with work so it didn't take too much out of his schedule and expenses are paid. During the interview he discovered that the patient he is donating to lives in Germany - which is kind of ironic!  Also, their chances of survival will go from 10% to 60% thanks to his donation.

I'm a lot more squeamish than my Dad, giving blood is already a big deal given my fear of needles but I hope that one day I will be able to do something similar.  

Well done Dad!