“I feel blessed to have got this opportunity to save someone’s life!”

Suresh was only 19-years-old when he gave someone a second chance at life!

18/02/2021

After being identified as a matching donor for someone in need, he donated his blood stem cells. Read about Suresh’s donation experience in his own words:

“I signed up as a potential blood stem cell donor during a drive conducted by DKMS-BMST at my college. I didn’t know too much about it and knew there was a low chance of getting the call, so I thought it wouldn’t do any harm! I always wanted to donate blood and after knowing this is going to be a similar process I made my decision"

To my surprise, within a year of registration, I got the call that I was a match for someone in need. For a moment, I was surprised as well as anxious about what is going to be the next step. However, I did some more reading into it and saw what a difference I was potentially able to make to give someone else another chance at life. My parents were a little concerned in the beginning but they supported me throughout the process.

The process

After my health check-ups and consultation with the physician, I was ready to donate my blood stem cells. Although I was a little nervous after hearing from people I know who said it was going to be really painful, honestly it isn’t so painful. I was given G-CSF injections 4 days before the donation day, I felt little discomfort after the injections, and nauseous, but it was manageable and it was nothing compared to what the patient must be going through.

On the day of donation or better described as a Peripheral blood stem cell collection procedure, I arrived at the collection center in the morning. The procedure took about 4 hours to complete and I was back home by late evening. There were no after-effects as such, and I was able to carry out all my work as I was doing before the donation.

Message

Having completed my donation, I hope the patient makes a full recovery and uses this as a second chance to enjoy the rest of their life. I am very happy that I could save someone, which is truly a blessing. I would say to that patient that you’re a fighter and a very strong person, god bless you.

Thanks to Suresh for donating and sharing his story! If you’ve been inspired, you can check your eligibility to become a potential blood stem cell donor and sign up to go on standby to save a life.