(對於中文文本 請向下滾動 / For Chinese text, please scroll down)
“There’s only a one in a ten thousand chance to be a marrow donor,” said the nurse inviting me to be a bone marrow donor during my first visit to the blood donation to give blood, “in any event, you can opt-out any time you want”. Although the gruesome scene of a thick needle piercing my spinal cord crept into my mind, I completed the registration form handed to me by the nurse to have my information registered with the Hong Kong Bone Marrow Donor Registry (“HKBMDR”) without much thinking. Two factors led to my rush decision. First, as a blood donor, I knew deep down that giving bone marrow (or blood-forming stem cells) is lifesaving. Another factor, which I suspect to be more dominating, is that the chance to be a donor is simply too remote, and I never expected the frightening image to become my reality.
Two years have since passed until a rainy summer day.
I was preparing for my upcoming exam together with my girlfriend, Agnes, who was a final-year medical student. Suddenly, my phone rang. Thinking it to be another call from a salesperson, I expect it to be short and uninteresting. To my surprise, the caller is a nurse from the Hong Kong Bone Marrow Donor Registry!
The nurse said with the kindest voice, “Hi Matthew, do you remember that you have registered as a donor with the HKBMDR? We want to notify you that there is a patient whose tissue types match with yours…”. “Thank you…I don’t think I have the time. Goodbye…” I answered as I ended the phone call in shock. All I could think about is a ghastly needle piercing through my spinal cord! Why would I have the “fortune” to be a donor?
“Who was that?” asked Agnes, who overheard my awkward response. Knowing that the identity of the caller, she first calmed me down and debunked my misconception. First, the needle would not be inserted into the donor’s spinal cord to collect the bone marrow. It would only be inserted into the donor’s pelvis. Moreover, the blood-forming stem cells required by the patient could be collected by an alternative means – “Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Donation.” Donors giving stem cells in such a way neither require anesthesia, nor do they have to experience a needle piercing their bone. Most importantly, the lives of those who require such stem cells are usually at stake, and have no luck in finding a family relative as a suitable donor.
Knowing that there is a patient in great need of help and the procedure is not as daunting as I (erroneously) imagined, I called the nurse again. I arranged to carry out the necessary physical examination and pre-donation procedure (including receiving Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor (“G-CSF”) injections each day for three days before the donation to mobilize the stem cells from the marrow into the bloodstream).
Three months had passed, and it was the day of donation. I was taken to a clean and beautifully decorated room in a hospital outpatient center. The nurses there carefully placed needles connected to tubing into each of my arms, which are no more terrifying than those during blood donation procedures. During the subsequent 5 to 6 hours, the nurses took great care of me as I witnessed my blood moving from a vein to one arm and passed through the tubing into a blood cell separator machine before returning to me. To me, the whole experience was like apheresis donation, except the duration was longer. Eventually, without much discomfort, I returned to my daily life routine the very next day.
One year after the donation day, I received a WhatsApp message from the nurse who took care of me. “The patient is in stable condition and is making a recovery gradually”. I smiled as I thank God for giving me this one in a ten thousand chance blessing.
萬分之一的祝福——成為骨髓捐贈者
「能捐贈骨髓的機率只有萬分之一。」這是我第一次捐血時，香港紅十字會輸血服務中心的護士邀請我登記成為骨髓捐贈者時告知我的資訊。雖然我腦海隨即浮現了一枝粗針鑽入我脊髓的可怕畫面，但經過護士的補充「即使登記後，捐贈者亦有權利在任何時間退出」，我再沒有猶豫地填好了護士給我的登記表格，將我的資料登記在香港骨髓捐贈者資料庫中。
作出這個決定的原因有兩個，首先是作為一個捐血者，我深深明白捐贈骨髓（造血幹細胞）可以拯救生命——但更重要的原因是，我覺得能夠配對成功並捐贈骨髓的機會實在微乎其微。我從沒想過腦海中浮現的畫面，最後會真正發生在我身上。
登記兩年後，生活一切如常，直至一個夏季的下雨天⋯⋯
我和我的醫科學生女朋友Agnes正在溫習時，我的電話突然響起來。以為又是一則擾人的推銷電話，但竟然是香港骨髓捐贈者資料庫的護士來電！電話中一把親切的聲音說：「Matthew您好！請問您記得您曾經登記成為骨髓捐贈者嗎？現在有一位病人與您的白血球組織型初步吻合，因此我們想邀請您⋯⋯」「不好意思，我現在沒有時間，再見！」我便連忙掛斷電話，那個一支粗針鑽入我脊髓的可怕畫面再次浮現！為什麼我會這麼「幸運」呢？
聽到我尷尬的回應，Agnes便詢問我關於剛才的來電。當她知道來由，首先安撫我焦急的情緒，隨即她向我解釋道：「捐贈骨髓時，醫生只會在捐贈者的盆骨抽取骨髓血液，並非用針刺進脊髓！而且現時可以從周邊血液中抽取病人所需要的造血幹細胞，過程中捐贈者既不用接受麻醉，也不用被針刺進盆骨。最重要的是，那位需要骨髓移植的病人現在定必是危在旦夕，但是沒有合適的親人可以捐贈，所以才需要您幫忙！」
當我明白這位病人實在很需要我的幫助，而且捐贈過程並沒有想像中那麼可怕後，我便馬上致電香港骨髓捐贈者資料庫，與護士安排進一步的覆驗和身體檢查。
轉眼便來到三個月後，在捐贈前的三天開始，我需要每天接受白血球生長激素（G-CSF）注射，將骨髓內的造血幹細胞驅動到周邊血液中。捐贈當天，我被安排到醫院日間門診中心一間整潔的房間內，護士細心地為我放置好針管後，捐贈隨即開始。我看見自己的血液從手臂上的針管流過，經過血液分離機，然後從另一針管回到我的身體裏。在護士無微不至的照顧下，約五小時的捐贈很快便完成，感覺與捐血無異。捐贈後，我也沒有感到任何不適，第二天便回復正常生活。
捐贈後一年，我收到香港骨髓捐贈者資料庫護士傳來的WhatsApp訊息：「病人現在情況穩定，正逐漸康復。」我會心微笑，感恩我能擁有這萬分之一的祝福。
