TNT Alum Donates Bone Marrow

Andrea Kitchens donating her bone marrow

Andrea Kitchens has been a regular blood donor since she first became eligible, but about five years ago when a friend's mother was diagnosed with luekemia, Andrea joined the National Bone Marrow Registry. Before that, she knew nothing about this registry, but her friend's mom was actively searching for a marrow donor so Andrea decided to join.

"It was easy to join," she said, "they took one extra vile of blood during a regular blood donation."

Five years after joining the registry, Andrea received the news that she was a possible match for someone. She was asked to give another sample so it could be determined how much of a match she was, but she did not hear from the registry again for several months.

Then, just a couple of months ago, she received another phone call and heard that she was most definitely a match for a lady living in Argentina. "I was excited," she said, "I had the opportunity to save a person's life through something I took for granted, my healthy blood."

Equipped with loads of information from the registry and their website, Andrea got busy reading even more about the process. All she was told about the person needing her marrow was that she lived in Argentina and was enduring AML. Things began happening pretty quickly.

"We set up the information session, physical and donation dates over the phone and through emails," she said.

Next, Andrea headed to downtown Houston for an information session and a quick blood draw. That same day, she went to the hospital where she would be donating to meet the doctor and get a few physical assessments done. "The most strenuous part was comprehending how much was going on so quickly," she said.

She was able to see results of each test as they were posted online. These results revealed all the levels of things in her blood. And then, she began injections every day for five days to increase the white blood cell count/stem cells in her blood. "Side effects for me were mild aches, headaches and fatigue," she said, "Tylenol got rid of most of these symptoms."

The marrow registry covered all the related expenses, including the hotel the night before. Andrea and her friend enjoyed a nice breakfast before the donation process began. "I was donating by 9:45 a.m.," she said.

"It was a long process," she said, "and only painful when I was able to move my arm after having it straight for most of the day." The stem cells were flown to Argentina that night where the recipient was waiting.

Sometimes the recipient of stem cells will need more later, so Andrea has been asked not to donate blood for at least one year just in case she needs to donate more stem cells to her recipient. Eventually, she will be allowed to donate blood and even bone marrow to another recipient if she's a match.

After one year, she and the recipient in Argentina will be allowed to contact each other if they both are willing. The registry helps make that happen.

"I would highly recommend everyone get on the donor list," said Andrea, "at least start with this easy step. I will gladly go through this process again if I have the opportunity to. There is a lot of information provided on the website and through asking people that have experienced it. The person with leukemia or lymphoma is suffering an astronomical more amount than anything I went through."

*Andrea participated in Nike San Francisco with TNT in 2010 and she hopes to return for another event soon.Way to go Andrea! You make us proud.