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Community Corner

Linden Man is a 'Match,' Becomes Donor for Leukemia Patient

Linden Mayor David Lossing gets a chance to help save a life, after signing up for the National Marrow Donor Program.

He doesn’t wear a cape or drive the Batmobile, but Linden Mayor David Lossing is a lifesaver. Years after signing up to become a bone marrow donor at a University of Michigan drive in April 2006, he found out on Oct. 30, 2012 that he was a potential match for a man with acute leukemia.

Michigan Blood Bank in Grand Rapids called to ask him whether he would be interested in moving forward, and Lossing’s answer was “Absolutely.” A regular blood and platelet donor for the the bone marrow registry was the next stage, he said.

He soon received a package of seven vials for blood samples via FedEx and had his blood drawn at the Urban Health and Wellness Center on the University of Michigan-Flint campus, where Lossing is director of Government Relations.

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The Michigan Blood Bank contacted him in mid-November to let him know he was a better match for the patient than a pool of other candidates. Lossing gave 12 more vials of blood for additional testing.

In early December, he learned he was the best match. He underwent a physical examination before being cleared to donate.

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There are two ways to donate, by having bone marrow extracted from the hip in a hospital or by giving peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC). PBSC, the method Lossing used, is the most common way to donate. The doctor of the patient receiving the transplant decides which method will have the best effect on his or her patient.

Lossing received injections of a drug called filgrastim to make his body produce more blood-forming cells. A nurse from the bone marrow transplant program at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor visited the Lossings’ house to give him the injections, one in each arm, for four days leading up to the blood-forming cell extraction, Lossing said.

The drug he received produces an achy feeling as it stimulates the bone marrow to produce more blood-forming cells. It felt like he had a bad workout or over-exercised, he said.

As Lossing was receiving the injections to stimulate blood cell production, the man he was donating to was receiving chemotherapy and radiation to kill his own blood-forming cells. Most transplant patients think of it as rebirth, since it sets their bodies to zero and they begin with new blood cells, Lossing said.

In mid-December, he and his wife, Sue Lossing, went to Grand Rapids, where they were given a hotel room to stay in before the extraction. The extraction process was like a platelet donation at the Red Cross, Lossing said. He stayed awake, with a tube in each arm, watching movies for several hours.

One tube was for withdrawing blood, which was spun and separated into layers. The blood-forming cell layer was removed, and the remaining red blood cells, platelets and plasma were placed back into Lossing’s bloodstream via the tube in the other arm.  

His donation left with a courier by airplane from Detroit Metro Airport, he said. After that, the courier went to an international destination to deliver the blood cell donation for the patient Lossing helped. All he knows at this point is that the man is elderly, has leukemia and is an international patient.

“I won’t know who he is for about a year or so,” Lossing said. “I included a birthday card for him.”

The courier was able to see the patient and show him the bag of blood cells, Lossing added. She waved, and the patient waved back.

"It gave me goosebumps," he said, to hear about it.

By the end of this month or early February, Lossing will find out if the donation was successful, he said. He would like to one day meet the patient, and he hopes his donation gives the patient another Christmas, another Thanksgiving and another anniversary with his wife and, hopefully, more parties with his children and grandchildren.

"You do it because you want to be selfless," Lossing said.

It’s a great experience to donate something that you can recreate in your own body and choose to save a stranger’s life, he added.

“It wasn’t painful at all,” he said.

He gives credit to University of Michigan Wellness Center and other U of M staff who assisted with the donation. The staff at Michigan Blood Bank were great to work with, but they were Spartan fans, Lossing said. He planned to send them some U of M swag to help them decorate their offices.

More on bone marrow donations

“There is always a need for committed and healthy donors between the ages of 18-44 to join the Be The Match Registry,” said Anne N. Pugliese, of Michigan Blood and Be The Match Registry in Grand Rapids.

The likelihood of becoming a donor is about 1 in 540, she said.

Lossing said he will work with the Michigan Blood to set up some registry drives at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor where he teaches a class, at the U of M-Flint campus where he works, and possibly the Michigan Municipal League (MML) convention in Detroit in September.

Lossing, who is the MML president, said African Americans and other minorities are under-represented in terms of members of the national marrow registry. This makes it more difficult to find help for minority patients who need a transplant. He’s hoping MML members who are minorities will sign up, Lossing said.

Those who do not want to join the registry can donate to support the program, and/or patients and their families. It costs over $100 per person per test to join the registry, so there is a need for funds and volunteers, said Pugliese. Fundraising with community partners and individuals offsets the costs to $25 per person, she added.

Donors never pay to donate, with travel costs reimbursed and all medical costs for the donation procedure covered by the National Marrow Donor Program or the patient’s medical insurance.

For more information on donating, email marrow@miblood.org or call (616) 233-8555.   

Also see www.miblood.org and http://marrow.org

On YouTube: http://youtu.be/XCB4CAPI1JU and http://youtu.be/rLO0Usg8vcY

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