Local man’s donation possible lifesaver for 3-year-old

Darrell Thompson recently travelled to California to donate bone marrow to a stranger on a waiting list. — © 2009 Gallup Independent / Brian Leddy

Copyright © 2009
Gallup Independent
By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Staff writer

GALLUP — Few people — outside of first responders and those in the medical field — ever have the chance to save another person’s life.

But when local resident Darrell Thompson was given that opportunity earlier this year, he didn’t hesitate. Thompson, a longtime senior audio visual technician at UNM-Gallup, traveled to California in early March to make a bone marrow donation. Although he doesn’t know the name of the 3-year-old boy who needed the transplant, Thompson is hoping the surgery proved to be a turning point in the child’s fight against leukemia.

In a recent interview, Thompson talked about his experience as a bone marrow donor. He explained that 15 years ago he signed up to be a donor after a presentation was made to the students and staff of UNM-Gallup. At the time, Thompson said, he had a friend with muscular dystrophy, and that friendship sparked his interest in trying to help someone else who was suffering from a serious medical condition.

According to Thompson, he was not alone — many UNM-Gallup students and staff members signed up during the donor drive. Thompson said he filled out the form, gave a pin prick’s worth of blood, and then went on with his life.

“I never thought I’d get called,” he admitted.

“Low and behold,” Thompson added, “14 years later they called me up.” Actually, he explained, he first received a letter saying he might be a possible match. And to Thompson’s knowledge, at least two other local community members received a similar letter at the same time: his sister who lives in Crownpoint and a co-worker’s daughter.

Thompson said he contacted the bone marrow registry and told them he was still willing and interested. That began a series of in-depth interviews that went over his medical history to make sure he was a good candidate. Through the interview process, he said, he learned the potential recipient was a 3-year-old boy suffering from leukemia. That knowledge, he said, left him even more willing to become a donor.

“I’d be willing to help out,” was Thompson’s response, “he’s just a little kid.”

Thompson said he moved to the next level of the process when he was instructed to donate blood samples at the Gallup Indian Medical Center. After arriving at the hospital, Thompson said he was startled to see the nurse open a package that contained a dozen empty vials that needed to be filled with his blood. After that marathon blood donation, Thompson said he submitted to several more interviews that carefully went over his health history once again.

In February, Thompson said he received an urgent call informing him the little leukemia patient had taken a turn for the worse. The Scripps Green Hospital in La Jolla, Calif., wanted Thompson to fly to San Diego the next morning for an immediate physical exam.

With the support of Jim Blackshear, his boss at UNM-Gallup, Thompson flew out of Albuquerque. At the hospital, he underwent the physical examination and more blood tests. By that afternoon, he was on a return flight to New Mexico.

Two weeks later, again with the support of his boss and UNM-Gallup officials, Thompson was back in California for the actual bone marrow donation. While prepping him for the surgical procedure, none of the hospital staff asked what Thompson thought was the most obvious question.

“Not one of them asked me, ‘Are you scared?’” he said. “I thought that was pretty funny,” added Thompson, who admitted he was nervous. He calmed himself, he explained, by thinking of people who had been struck with leukemia.

According to the National Marrow Donor Program, liquid marrow is withdrawn from the back of a donor’s pelvic bones using special, hollow needles. Thompson said he was told physicians removed about one-half pint of the liquid marrow during his procedure. After the surgery, Thompson said, he was a little sore and needed several days to recuperate, and it took him about a month to feel completely normal again.

Thompson said he doesn’t know the bone marrow recipient’s name or other personal information. He also doesn’t know if the boy is Native American, but he thinks he might possibly be. The National Marrow Donor Program’s Web site states transplant patients are most likely to match someone of their own race or ethnicity, and there currently aren’t enough ethnic minority and mixed-race donors on the registry.

In a year, Thompson said, the child and his family can choose if they would like to meet him. Thompson said he would definitely agree to such a meeting because he would like to get to know the child and see how he is doing.

Thompson was asked if he would go through the experience again. “It was all worth it,” he said. “I’m pretty positive I would do it again, especially for a child.”

To learn how to sign-up on the bone marrow registry or to update an old registration, visit www.marrow.org.