Damon became a bone marrow donor some years after having joined the British Bone Marrow Registry, which run by the National Blood Service. He was inspired to sign up after looking through an Anthony Nolan donor recruitment leaflet.
“My story starts a few years ago. I was waiting to give blood at a blood donor clinic. On the seat next to me was a leaflet from The Anthony Nolan Trust, so I started reading for something to do. The next two or three minutes changed my pre-conceptions about being a bone marrow donor.
I thought you had to be a member of the bone marrow recipient’s family, and I also thought that you would have big holes drilled into your bones to extract the bone marrow Realising that unrelated people could donate made me take more notice of what I was reading. The case studies of patients and donors inspired me to do something. So I joined!
Going forward to early 2008 - I was contacted by the British Bone Marrow Registry (BBMR): I may be a possible match for someone on the other side of the world. Do I mind? I didn't care who or where I was just so excited that I could help someone. Then, two weeks later a letter came; I was NOT a match. I was really disappointed, thinking that some lucky so and so was going to be able to do something I really wanted to do.
Two weeks later and another call from BBMR. They do want me now. Would I mind having a few blood tests to confirm the match, we arranged it as soon as possible, it’s a bit daft but I didn't want anyone getting in front of me again. 16 small test tubes later and that’s it. I can do no more except wait.
Six weeks later and YES i am a good match. An appointment was arranged for me to have a medical and counselling where I was offered the choice of which way to donate, by bone marrow harvest or from my peripheral blood.
I chose bone marrow harvest.
My wife and I travelled to the harvest hospital where I met the doctors who were going to perform the procedure. I was told that the patient was a child and what was wrong with her. That’s when it really hit home, having two kids of my own, the massive impact of me doing this very little thing would have on her and her family, what must they have been going through. Would I even go through with it? I had been telling everyone I was doing it for me, because it’s something I wanted to do but now I was looking at it from the other side; it was an emotional night.
I had the procedure at 8am the next morning, it only took 35 minutes. They had taken all the bone marrow they needed. By 10am I was back in my room with two corn plasters at the bottom of my back and being fussed over. By midday I was up and walking about; or should I say shuffling because I had to wear surgical stockings for a while. For pain relief I had something before I come round then just paracetamol. I spent the rest of my time in hospital being treated like a prince, then discharged the next morning.
Back home some people are saying how brave I must be to have had such a painful operation.Brave? I am a proper wuss. I have realised that is still some people’s mis-conceptions about donating so I am going to do something that I will find very difficult and not something that I will enjoy.
I am going to contact my local paper and ask if they would like to do a story about what I have had done, if I can pluck up the courage. Told you I was a wuss.
Now my aim is to get ten more local people to sign up, then just maybe one of them will feel 10 ft tall with pride as I do.”
