UpDate on Bella's BMT process

Bella Beauty Bomb to brighten your day: 

I had a very good discussion with our second BMT nurse today. Things have been a little behind with our primary BMT nurse being away from work right now. 

In short, our 2 week wait on the donor's blood samples has turned into a 4 week wait. This is totally fine and normal and expected. 

The reasons behind this wait being longer are: 1. When the lab is busy, HLA typing takes longer. 2.location and reaction time of the BMT center from where the donor lives when contacting and sending samples. (We still don't know where our two donors are from. Could be France and/or Australia for all I know right now.) And that would be super cool. 3.Shipping Dates: When they tell Calgary the blood samples will arrive the 16th... It's actually anywhere from 2-5 days after the 16th that they actually arrive. 

But! I did find out today (drum roll please!)... The lab work for both donors is done and back! (The 9/10 and 10/10) Yay!

Next Steps:

Our main BMT doctor Dr. Lewis (Head of the BMT Clinic Program aka: The Best BMT doctor and is "the" Guy) is back tomorw. He will look at all factors of both donors and decide which donor to use for Bella. Now, I know what you're asking, "What?! Don't they just go with the obvious 10/10?!... No deciding."

Ya, I asked that today to our BMT nurse. She explained that yes the 10 markers they initially look at are very important but there can be other factors that can make the 9/10 donor better for Bella. 

I know, I was blown away too. I'm just happy that we have the best specialists knowing exactly what to look at for the decision and praise God we have 2 donors to pick from. That is a huge blessing in itself. 

So, what might make the 9/10 donor better for Bella vs the 10/10? 

1. Age: The younger the better. The best age to donate marrow is the youngest you can be for it which is 18. I plan to help raise awareness for being a donor in highschools after all this. If our grade 12s can be more aware of what it takes to be a bone marrow donor, they could have the potential to save lives. 

2. Blood Group Match. Dr. Lewis will have to consider which donor has a better blood group match for Bella. 

3. Female who has had children. If the donor has had kids this means they have been exposed to more antibodies and that poses more risk for Bella. 

Dr. Lewis will of course go over all of this with us in the near future. So tonight I'm praying his decision is easy because the 10/10 will be an 18-25 year old who hasn't had kids. Hope'n and praying that perhaps both donors fit that profile and the BMT team will speak with confidence to us about the easy choice. We'll find out soon. :)

After That:

Dr. Lewis will sign off on which donor he has chosen. He will then contact the donor and give the donor a date of when they need them to be available. When that date is set they have then "Activated The Donor." The donor will then go through more tests and so will Bella. They will work out the right day to start Bella's Conditioning (8 Days of Chemo). From the day they "Activate the Donor" until Bella's Transplant day is usually 2-4 weeks. We are getting closer! 

So, as of tomorw, we could safely say Bella could be within 1 month of Day Zero (transplant day).