DoD Bone Marrow Donor Program

Jcleppe

10-Year Member
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Feb 10, 2010
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I just wanted to share an experience my older son is having right now.

For all the MS4's here you all know of this program from LDAC, for you MS3's you will find out about it this summer when you attend LDAC.

During LDAC this past summer the cadets were told of the program and asked to volunteer as potential donors. They took swabs of the cadets and added them to the DoD Bone Marrow Registry. Of course they were all told it would be a 1 in 900,000 chance they would ever be a match to a person outside their family.

Well.......

Last month my son received the call, actually they called home looking for him. He was told he was a possible match for someone. A week later he drove to a hospital that could take the required blood samples for further testing. He was told if he was a match, which they now said was a 1 out of 10 chance, he would receive a phone call, if he wasn't a match he would receive a letter.

Well, the phone rang at 6:00am at our house with the person on the other end urgently looking to contact our son, not really sure why they keep calling us and not him directly, he must have put our number on the form. They did finally reach him this morning and he is a match.

Normally they take a couple months to prep everything, they have the cadet fly back to DC for a physical, a week or so later they fly them back to DC to donate the bone marrow. That is not how things went this time. The patient in need of the transplant is in very urgent need. My son will be flying to La Jolla CA in a week and do the physical and is scheduled for the Bone Marrow donation Dec. 7th through the 13th. The DoD pays all expenses for him and a companion.

For those who signed up for this program, there will always be a chance you may be selected.

I am very proud of my son, he never considered not doing it, when he got the phone call he said yes with no hesitation.

The military is a strong brotherhood, I include women in the broad statement. Even though these cadets are not yet commissioned or in the official military, they do not hesitate to come to the aid of their fellow soldiers. They are truly the best of the best.
 
I am so incredibly moved by what you wrote. That is truly a wonderful thing your son and your family are doing.
 
Such an amazing story. You must be incredibly proud. Thanks for sharing your experience. These kids never cease to amaze me.
 
Knew you and yours were "good people" and your DS's willingness to donate is amazing. Hope everything goes well and the patient your son is helping has a quick and full recovery:thumb:
 
Bless him and your family.

My Dad died from AML (Luekemia) when he was 57 due to bone marrow issues.

To do this is truly heroic IMPHO.:thumb:

Thanksgiving has a new meaning to all of us.
 
My son was told this afternoon the the recipient is a 45 year old male with AML.

They will keep him informed of the recipients progress after the procedure. If both agree there may be a chance they can meet, my son would like that.

If you all don't mind I'll post how things go as events move forward.

I'm sure my son will appreciate all your kind words, thank you. He said he doesn't see it as Heroic at all....just doing his duty and what's right. They sure train them well don't they.
 
One in a million

My son was told this afternoon the the recipient is a 45 year old male with AML.

They will keep him informed of the recipients progress after the procedure. If both agree there may be a chance they can meet, my son would like that.

If you all don't mind I'll post how things go as events move forward.

I'm sure my son will appreciate all your kind words, thank you. He said he doesn't see it as Heroic at all....just doing his duty and what's right. They sure train them well don't they.

You always knew he was 1/1000000 and now it is mathematically confirmed. Just before finals I'm guessing; they should just wave the exams and give him a 4.0 in all his classes.
 
My son will be flying to La Jolla CA in a week and do the physical and is scheduled for the Bone Marrow donation Dec. 7th through the 13th. The DoD pays all expenses for him and a companion.

I am very proud of my son, he never considered not doing it, when he got the phone call he said yes with no hesitation.

Jcleppe,
You should be very proud of your son. Just to donate is impressive and then to see that he will be donating when most college students will be taking finals is very unselfish. Putting others in front of his needs says a lot on how you raised him. If you go to La Jolla as his companion it is a great place. My first two children were born in La Jolla; excellent hospitals and a great place to recuperate!
 
You always knew he was 1/1000000 and now it is mathematically confirmed. Just before finals I'm guessing; they should just wave the exams and give him a 4.0 in all his classes.

Your right, the timing turns out to be 3 days during Dead Week and 2 days during Finals. I have a feeling his professors will understand and make any arrangements.

Looks like he will be going down for an overnight to have a complete physical during Thanksgiving break, he'll need to find a good place to eat that serves Turkey. Reading the info the physical makes his Flight Physical look like a quickie at the local clinic.
 
Tell him thanks, getting a chance to save lives is why I joined the army and I always appreciate guys/gals stepping up to change someone's life for the better.
 
Great job raising a selfless young man! I hope his donation goes smoothly with little discomfort. May God Bless him during the process. He's giving someone a 2nd chance at life. I've been on the Be the Match Marrow Registry for almost 15 yrs. I've been called 3x's to come in for further tissue matching.......not quite close enough. It's a wonderful service for those in need.
 
My son was told this afternoon the the recipient is a 45 year old male with AML.

They will keep him informed of the recipients progress after the procedure. If both agree there may be a chance they can meet, my son would like that.

If you all don't mind I'll post how things go as events move forward.

I'm sure my son will appreciate all your kind words, thank you. He said he doesn't see it as Heroic at all....just doing his duty and what's right. They sure train them well don't they.

Please do post for us how everything goes. As Pima mentioned, a whole new meaning for Thanksgiving for all involved and probably a Christmas miracle for his recipients family too. It would take a really hard-hearted professor to not work with him about the exam schedule. Oh, and Cracker Barrel, if they are in that area, serves a really good traditional turkey dinner(worked many Thanksgiving serving them:thumb:).
 
Funny...My supervisor just got the call 9 years after he was swabbed. He'd all in for it.
 
UPDATE:

Son flew out yesterday for sunny, well actually it was a bit cold, windy, and rainy, La Jolla CA. He has is complete Pre-donation Physical today and will fly back this evening. The physical is pretty complete, much more then any Dodmerb or even Flight physical, he said at least he will know that he is great shape if everything comes back OK.

Now he waits until Dec. 7th when he will fly back to La Jolla for the donation. That will be an interesting week. We will update during that week.
 
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