Page 4 - Desert Lightning News October 2015

4 October 2, 2015 Desert Lightning News

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Airman provides vitality through marrow donation

Airman 1st Class Chris Drzazgowski

355th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

TUCSON, Ariz. -- One out of 540 members of the C.W. Bill Young De- (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Chris Drzazgowski)
partment of Defense Marrow Donor Program ever proceeds to donate
marrow or stem cells. An Airman from Schriever Air Force Base, Colo- A nurse transfers bone marrow donated from U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Bruce Davis, 527th Space
rado, had the opportunity to be one of those donors. Aggressor Squadron radio frequency transmission supervisor, to a collection bag at Banner-Uni-
versity Medical Center in Tucson, Ariz., July 2015. Davis’ marrow extraction took place at Banner
The C.W. Bill Young DoD Marrow Donor Program works exclusively UMC because one of its specialty services includes extensive cancer treatment.
with military personnel and their dependents, as well as DoD civilian em-
ployees, to facilitate marrow and stem cell donations. vide a great experience.”
While comparing the marrow donation process to being as simple as at-
In the early 2000s, Tech. Sgt. Bruce Davis, 527th Space Aggressor Squad-
ron radio frequency transmission supervisor, was stationed at Royal Air tending a dentist appointment, Davis urges anyone who is able, to become
Force Mildenhall, England, when he decided to register to become a poten- a registered potential donor.
tial marrow donor. It wasn’t until earlier this year that Davis was notified
he was a match for a patient in need of a bone marrow transplant. “I just thought it was a good thing to do,” Davis said. “Just like donating
blood, every time there’s a blood drive on base, you don’t know what your
“I went to the nearest hospital at Peterson AFB, where they drew blood, blood is going to be used for or who it’s going to go to. You just know there’s a
tested it all and it came back with good results,” Davis said. “The next step need. There’s just as much of a need for marrow right now, it’s just less known.”
was to come back (to Tucson so) they could do more tests. They do a chest
X-ray, draw more blood to (perform) a lot more lab work, and then schedule There are several ways you can register to become a potential bone marrow
the extraction. It goes pretty quick when they find out you’re a good match.” donor. You can attend walk-in registration sites, hold your own drive or re-
quest a kit from the C.W. Bill Young DoD Marrow Donor Program. For more
After some final testing, Davis was in his hospital bed rolling down the fluo- information about becoming a potential donor, visit www.salutetolife.org
rescently lit hallway to the operating room where the marrow extraction was
scheduled to take place. Davis was administered an anesthetic, and moments
later, he laid on the bed motionless. Doctors worked quickly to insert a breath-
ing tube into his mouth so he could easily breathe while lying on his stomach.

The bone marrow was harvested from Davis’ hips using two needles placed
in the left and right sides of his lower back. With the needles serving as taps, the
doctors used syringes to extract about 1.5 liters of rich marrow, which is 5 per-
cent or less of the donor’s total marrow cells, and transfer it to a collection bag.
After processing, the marrow is transplanted to the recipient within 24 hours.

Davis’ marrow extraction took place at Banner-University Medical Center in Tuc-
son, Arizona, because one of its specialty services includes extensive cancer treatment.

“This hospital was especially cooperative and the staff was great,” Davis
said. “They kept me overnight for observation and checked on me to pro-

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