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There is a need for people to sign up and become stem cell donors. It is a cause that North Bay resident Colin Vickers has taken under his wing and is hoping to spread the word about its importance. Vickers is a stem cell transplant recipient following intensive treatment for Acute Myeloid Leukemia and says, “Thankfully I’m recovering well from that and if I hadn’t had that transplant things wouldn't been so rosy.”
Vickers says, “The research is imperative and the more work that's done on that, the more opportunities there will be for people of all ages with different kinds of cancers and other medical issues to perhaps find a cure by receiving stem cells. So that education piece is quite important.”
Vickers says right now there is excellent research happening in the medical field involving stem cells in Canada and other places around the globe. He adds, “The more that they succeed with the research the greater the need is for the stem cell donors, so that's really what our projects’ push is, education but also trying to register people to be potential stem cell donors.”
The project Vickers has developed involves a few different members in the community playing to their strengths to market and advertise the need for stem cell donors in several ways, including by putting together two “Swab In” events which will be held at Nipissing University and Canadore College next month.
Hayden Lloyd is a nursing student and he saw Vickers’ call to the community and jumped onboard.
“I received an e-mail from one of my professors saying that Colin is looking for two students in the nursing program to assist in this project, and the email had a little bit of his back story and said that he had beaten three different cancers over 12 years and as I was reading his story it just really inspired me to want to join and help out.”
Lloyd says the Swab In event will involve people filling out a questionnaire and then having their cheeks swabbed. “Those samples are sent off and information is taken from that, and they register you in a global database. Your profile is developed and then if a patient comes along who needs stem cells, they try to match people together, and if all goes well, you're called to be a donor.”
If you are called, Vickers says the donation process is a little more involved than the initial “swab in.”
“The two main ways of donating are peripheral blood or bone marrow blood . They are both stem cell blood, they both do the same thing, it’s just a matter of what would work better for some patients,” says Vickers.
“90% of the donors give peripheral blood and that goes out one arm and goes through a machine process where it separates out the stem cells and then you’re given back your blood. Basically, you know you’re going to spend hours in an easy chair giving blood.” Vickers says that it takes a little while for your stem cells to replenish but it doesn't impact you to any great extent. He adds the other way to donate is through bone marrow and that one requires a procedure where they take the bone marrow from your hip.
“That's a more intrusive and there is some risk as a general anesthetic is required. However, it's not painful because you're sedated. I can tell you that I've had seven born marrow biopsies and all they do is numb your skin with a long needle into your hip to get a sample. The general anesthetic makes the process much more comfortable. Retrieval of the stem cells doesn’t take that long but there is a small recovery process that follows. Most of the time, the medical procedures are covered by the provincial health plan and the challenge for some would be to be away from work for a couple of days.”
But in the long run, Lloyd says that time is worth it because by donating you can change someone’s life.
“If it wasn't for stem cell transplants a lot of people would be in a bad place and the simplicity of it too, is it is so easy to become a donor and it's easy to donate as well.”
He says there are certain demographics of people they are hoping to attract at the swab in.
“Our primary age is one of the biggest factors, so you must be between the ages of 17 and 35 to register and ethnically diverse donors are important. Men are under-represented when they go to donate stem cells and especially non-Caucasian men.”
That’s why they are hoping to see a lot of students at the Swab In event.
“You don't have to be a Canadian citizen to register in this database which I think is great because there are a lot of International Students who have come to take their education here and I think the premise is that a number of those students will stay in Canada and seek employment after they graduate. So, if we can register them that would be great because I can imagine a lot of people that that do come here probably think they aren't eligible to take part in some of these things,” says Vickers who believes he received his stem cells from someone who donated in Europe.
“I had a match that was a nine out of 10 on the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) markers. Ideally you want to be 10 out of 10 but nine out of 10 is considered good and you can mitigate some of the issues, and you want to make sure you don't have a rejection of the stem cells by your host cells. My understanding is it's a couple of months ahead that they work with the donor and the donor must commit they're going to donate because once the treatment starts on the patient, your immune system's getting wiped out. So if you're not getting the donation that's putting the patient in a bit of a tough spot.”
“I was presenting well and when I got to Ottawa, they explained everything, all the ins and outs and what the risks were and what I might expect for treatment. Part of that is they make you unwell, before they make you well. They must wipe out your immune system with chemotherapy and then build you back up again, but you start that whole process with a new set of stem cells from the donor.” Vickers says, “The timing is right down to the minute. You have X number of days after the process starts to receive that transplant and then it's about a 100 a day window where they watch you to see how things are working out. The science behind the whole process is fascinating.”
Vickers says he was very fortunate to receive his stem cell transplant because "I was 70 when I got the nod that I could get it and that doesn't always happen.”
Lloyd says, “Stem cells can treat over 80 diseases and disorders. What I've learned throughout this process and what we’re hoping to promote during the Swab In is that awareness for everyone and to hopefully register people in the stem cell registry.”
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