Knowing you could have saved someone’s life is
a feeling many people will never get to experience.
But for KM Group reporter Keyan Milanian it is
about to become a reality.
Keyan, 26, who works on the Medway Messenger
decided to become a bone marrow donor a year and a half ago while
reporting for his previous paper the Gravesend
Messenger.
He signed up to the Anthony Nolan Trust
register, a charity which recruits adult volunteer bone marrow and
blood stem cell donors.
Every year thousands of people with
life-threatening diseases like leukaemia and aplastic anaemia reach
a stage when their only hope of survival is a blood stem cell
transplant.
Keyan was helping to find a match for
six-year-old Rianna Deol from Gravesend. Although he was not a
match for Rianna, a donor was eventually found.
Another patient was identified and Keyan had
more tests to see if his cells were compatible. He was confirmed as
a match and the process of stem cell collection started.
He was given a stringent medical and spent a
week having daily injections of G-CSF (Granulocyte Colony
Stimulating Factor) – a chemical which prompts the body to produce
blood stem cells.
On Monday (January 18) he spent several hours
hooked up to a machine for a process called peripheral blood stem
cell (PBSC) harvest.
His stem cells were separated from the rest of
his blood, collected, and will be used to treat the patient.
The procedure is suitable for 80 per cent of
donations and is an alternative to traditional bone marrow donation
which requires surgery.
Keyan, who lives in south Wimbledon, said:
“One myth those at the Anthony Nolan Trust are trying to break is
that donating bone marrow always requires surgery. Eighty per cent
of donations are now carried out by PBSC.”
He will never find out the identity of the
person whose life he helped to save, all he knows is it is an adult
male.
He said: “Although all I have been told is the
patient who will be sharing my cells is an adult male, the feeling
you are potentially saving someone’s life is special enough.”
Keyan will be filing copy for the paper and
website throughout the process.
For more on The Anthony Nolan Trust visit
www.anthonynolan.org.uk or
call 020 72841234.
(Jan 21, 2010)