An article done on me.

[danninator]

Originally getting involved with this donation was something I didn't plan on talking about, let alone let a newspaper write about it. I didn't want bang my own drum, just wanted to go do it, hopefully help someone and continue on. But as I began to talk to family about it and then friends I realized there were a light of misconceptions that perhaps keeps many potential life-savers off the registry. If anyone is interested feel free to PM me.


Man donates bone marrow, saves a life

Cherokee grad Danninator didn't want another family to go through what the loved ones of a classmate of his did, so he did something in the hopes of preventing just that-and may have saved someone's life by doing so.On May 5, Danninator underwent a peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT)-donating his white blood cells to a young man who is battling non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Danninator was moved by the Delo family of Marlton and their efforts to find a bone marrow donor for Michael Delo, who was a classmate of Danninator and grew up involved boy scouts and other community groups with Danninator.

Delo was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma in November 2006, while he was attending Penn State University. At a benefit last March, funds were raised to have 500 people enrolled in a National Marrow Donor program at a Cherokee High School drive.

Unfortunately, a match for Delo was not found and he lost his battle with cancer last May.

Danninator, 24, who is a police officer in Danninatorville, was one of the ones who signed up to be a donor. And early this year, he learned that he may be a match for someone.

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He then had to undergo a variety of medical tests to verify if he could serve as a donor.

"I figured there is another family sitting out there in Mike's (Delo) family's situation. I just figured it was the right thing to do. At least one good thing came from Mike's death."

Danninator said he had little prior knowledge of the bone marrow donor program, before hearing of Mike's plight.

Knowing everything the Delos went through, Danninator said the decision to move forward with the many procedures required before becoming a donor was not difficult.

"(When he heard he was) a match with this person, I knew I could be their last hope."

At this time, Danninator knows nothing more than his match is a "younger male" with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Depending on the recipient's health, Danninator can establish anonymous contact with the recipient soon and direct contact after a year has passed.

Before he became a donor, Danninator said he had only heard that the procedure can be a painful process. However, he now wants people to know, that's not the whole story and is dependent on what procedure is required to be done.

In his case, Danninator had PBSCT, which involves stem cells being taken directly from the bloodstream. A bone marrow transplantation (BMT) involves stem cells being taken directly from the liquid center of the bone (the marrow), usually from the hip bone.

For his procedure, Danninator first had to undergo a series of blood work and other tests. He points out that a representative from the bone marrow registry (there are several nationwide) handled all scheduling of medical procedures and that all costs were paid by the program he used.

The doctors for the recipient direct the donor as to what procedure is required. During his testing, it was revealed that Danninators' veins were not as strong as would be needed to have needles in each arm to remove the stem cells. Thus, his donation had to be extracted from his femoral artery.

For him, Danninator said the preparation for the donation was the most uncomfortable part. The five days before the donation (which was done at Hahnemann Hospital in Philadelphia), Danninator had to get daily injections of the drug, neupogen, to boost his white blood cell count.

Danninator points out that his white blood cell level of 12 was already higher than the 5 to 10 average for adults.

The neupogen cause the body to produce white blood cells at a much higher rate than is normal, and Danninator said this led to bad headaches and aches and pains throughout his body.

"It wasn't unbearable. It was like having the flu without having a fever."

He also jokes that growing up he was a bit afraid of needles, but after having so many in the period a few weeks, he is largely over the fear.

On donation day, Danninator was hooked up to a machine which took blood from his femoral artery, removed white blood cells, and transported the blood back into his body. It was done while Danninator was under a local anesthetic.

The procedure took six hours and Danninator admits, "I was terribly nervous the whole time."

"The hardest part was the anxiety of not knowing what was going to happen. After, it really wasn't bad. In the end, I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

After being observed for a half hour at the hospital, Danninator was discharged and it took a few days to recover from the procedure. He also had to restrict activity for a few days, while his body readjusted to its post-donation status.

Danninator said his employer was understanding and that he didn't have to miss much work time throughout the whole process.

And, it was one work-related issue that helped Danninator realize the magnitude of what it was he was doing. When he was scheduled to appear at a court date May 5 (he was involved in the case in his officer's duties), he asked if he could possibly reschedule the donation procedure for a day or so.

"The doctors told me that (the recipient) wouldn't make it a few more days. That's when you realize, I am doing this to save someone."

[Just KC]

How very awesome that you were given the chance to save a life! You rock for being a donor! WTG! You are one special person! Thanks for sharing your story

[jmur5074]

That's something to be proud of.


Nice work man.

Reps enroute.

[cajunguy]

Ya done good fer a Yankee.

Hope you get to meet the recipient someday. That'll really make your day, I'm sure. (You've already made his.)

Congrats. Whole buncha THUMBS UP to you.


.

[gozling]

[2 Blue 4 U]

Great story, thanks for sharing and yes you deserve to bang on your own drum, Well Deserved! You are a life saver, a true hero!

[dapples]

You did a very selfless thing! You should be very proud! My Mother had non hodgkins lymphoma ...... she lived a long life...surviving 3 different types of cancer and their treatments...before I lost her in 2006.

[Lo523]

You have every reason to be proud of what you have selflessly done! I am sure there are a lot of people who will be so grateful to you.

[The91Bravo]

WTG,

There very well may be a life saved from that simple act....


BTW... where the frig is Danninatorville???

[lewisipso]

Good job.

[sweetpea]

Thanks for sharing, what a wonderful gift to be able to give someone in need.

[TXCharlie]

Great thing you did!!!

I didn't know they could get marrow donations from blood!

[mack]

Wow, you are really a hero in the true sense of the word. Selfless acts should never go unnoticed. Stand up and bang that drum louder!

[PapaBear]

An awesome act of kindness and compassion! As a Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma survivor, I personally thank you for your actions.

I have had to undergo two sessions of chemotherapy (2002 and 2005) and can tell you that the progression of the illness is unbelievable until arrested. It is a cancer that is never cured, it is just slowed.

There are many cancer groups out there - breast (my wife's burden), colorectal, lung, pancreatic, uterine, prostate, testicular, cranial, intestinal, Leukemia/Lymphoma, etc. I wholly encourage each of you to consider helping them all out to the best of your abilities. They need help for their research, cure development and prevention programs.

God bless you, Danninator!

[RoJo]

Thats very cool!

[BigDawg]

Way to go man