Q&A: CMU student to donate bone marrow to save a life
Port Costa, California senior Clare Laughery poses for a photo on Jan. 12 in the Bovee University Center.
Port Costa, California senior Clare Laughery is in the process of saving a life.
Laughery is registered for Be the Match, a nonprofit organization operated by the National Marrow Donor Program that helps patients get life-saving bone marrow transplants. Two years after she registered, she received a phone call in December saying she was a match, and decided to follow through with the donation.
According to Be the Match, one in 40 registry members will be called for additional testing and one in 300 will be selected as the best possible donor for a patient. About 1 in 430 members will donate.
Laughery's procedure to donate her bone marrow will take place the first week of February.
She is a full-time student athlete at CMU. She plays lacrosse and is studying real-estate development and finance with a minor in philosophy. Laughery sat down with Central Michigan Life to discuss her upcoming procedure.
Central Michigan Life: How did you register to be apart of Be the Match?
Laughery: I was in a CMU leadership class and we did a drive for the Be the Match at a CMU football game. We were asking people to register and had all the paper work and a medical practitioner with kits at the event. It was easy to sign up, so I said why not, and the guy just swabbed my check and then I was registered.
If you want to join all you have to do is request a packet from Be the Match when you sign up online then they send you a kit. After that all you have to do is send your cheek swab back to Be the Match and you are registered.
Why did you decide to register?
At the time I was thinking, I am a perfectly healthy 19-year-old girl and if I can help someone in such a big way why would I not do it? To me it was easy to register, and it felt rewarding to know that I could save someone’s life.
After the organization called and I had been through the testing process I became so grateful for my health and everything in my life. This process has reminded me of lucky I am to be healthy.
What did you have to do after you found out you were a match?
When I got the call that said I was a potential match, it was during exam week, so I told them that I did not know if I had time to go to Grand Rapids to get my blood tested. The woman on the phone told me that was fine, and they said if I wanted to do it, they could send me a kit to take to McLaren Hospital in Mount Pleasant. I told her I wanted to do it. Then three weeks later I got a call saying I was a match.
On Jan. 8, I went to Grand Rapids to have a physical and to get my blood drawn to make sure I was healthy and ready for the procedure.
In total it has taken me only six hours to do everything. The people from Be the Match have been so helpful. They paid for my gas, bought me lunch and even offered to pay for a hotel for me when I went to Grand Rapids.
Do you know what to expect when you get the procedure?
They told me that there was little risk to me. They said it will feel like I had fallen on ice. I will go under for the procedure and the incisions are so small I do not even need stitches. I will be released from the hospital the same day.
Have you had to miss school or practice during this process?
I have not had to miss school yet, although I will the day I actually donate. I have had to miss practice and there was no hesitation from anyone on letting me do this. After I told my coach about everything, she was so excited and joined the registry as well.
Do you know who you are donating to?
I do not know who I am donating to because of the strict confidentiality laws that are in place. After a year is when we could potentially start talking and exchange names. When the procedures are done, we can begin sending letters to each other through our donor ID numbers.
When I watch the videos of recipients meeting their donors it makes me wonder why everyone doesn’t do this. Because having the opportunity to potentially do something like this is amazing. I still don’t think the gravity of my situation and what I am doing has hit me yet and I don’t think it will until the procedure is done.
I hope people join the registry after reading about my experience. The younger you are the more likely you are to be selected. The process is so easy, and you may be able to save someone’s life.
