Air Force civilian donates bone marrow to save life

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Rachel Sherburne
  • 1st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (AFPN) --  When an Air Force civilian employee lost a cousin to leukemia in 1990 because he could not find a bone marrow donor in time, she made it her mission to do all she could to prevent that from happening to anyone else.

Nancy Lenz, a 1st Fighter Wing Safety Office administrator, underwent a two-hour surgery recently in the hopes that her bone marrow might save the life of another leukemia victim.

The recipient of her marrow is neither a family member nor a friend. In fact, the only thing she knows is that the person receiving the transplant is a 35-year-old female with acute leukemia.

Ms. Lenz decided to participate in the National Marrow Donor Program after leukemia took the life of her cousin. But unlike the millions of other participants in the program, she is one of the few who will actually serve as a donor.

Simply being willing and able to be a bone marrow donor is only the first step. She registered during a marrow donor drive conducted by the C.W. Bill Young/DoD Marrow Donor Program, part of the Department of Defense’s national program.

The second step, being contacted and identified as a potential match, may never happen.

For Ms. Lenz, it was nearly 12 years after registering with the program when the unexpected phone call came saying she was a “potential match.”

And potential is the key word.

The third step is completing the confirmatory typing, where these potential matches undergo more extensive tests to narrow the field and see if they will match closely enough to be an actual donor for the patient. According to research by the NMDP, of the select few who are ever contacted, only 8 percent successfully complete the confirmatory typing and go on to donate.

Some have medical conditions that exclude them. Some have moved from the area or are not responsive once contacted. Some have types that appeared likely matches from the initial typing, but were not matches when more detailed typing was performed.

Others matched perfectly, but because there were other donors who matched perfectly, they were excluded by the transplant center based on other criteria such as donor age or red blood cell type.

According to her NMDP coordinator, Ms. Lenz was a “dream come true.” Not only was she responsive, but she was proactive and enthusiastic, often helping the coordinator to set up the many tests that had to be conducted.

After several phone interviews, visits to the hospital and tests, Ms. Lenz successfully completed the confirmatory typing, identifying her as the “best match” for a patient seeking a bone marrow transplant.

The fourth and final step is the donor’s commitment.

“They really want you informed before you commit to the surgery,” Ms. Lenz said. She reviewed numerous pamphlets, books e-mails and videos to help her physically and mentally prepare for the surgery. Donors always have the right to back out at any time and not undergo the surgery.

But this was never even an option for Ms. Lenz.

“A person in this situation does not have a lot of options,” she said. “A bone marrow transplant is the very last line of defense after all other potential solutions have failed.”

The surgery is relatively simple, she said. Donors are given a general anesthesia and lay on their stomachs while two doctors, one on either side, make a small .25- to .50-inch incision just above the buttocks. They then insert a needle to collect the bone marrow from the iliac crest, a portion of the flat part of the pelvic bone.

Ms. Lenz spent one night at a hospital. She donated a quart and a half of marrow -- 5 percent of her total marrow. That marrow will replace itself within four to six weeks.

Everything was paid for, including her hotel in Washington D.C., both before and after the surgery, as well as all meals and transportation costs.

An additional perk is an all-expense paid trip for a companion to be there with the donor. In her case, Ms. Lenz’s sister flew in from Spokane, Wash.

Despite any pain she endured from the surgery, Ms. Lenz counts herself lucky to be able to help someone else, even a perfect stranger.

“It seems I hold the key to life for a certain lady and I can’t just walk away from that,” she said.

Ms. Lenz has no way of contacting the recipient, although doctors will inform her whether the surgery is successful.

If the transplant is a success, the donor and recipient have an opportunity to be put into contact after one year, but only if both parties agree and are willing to talk to each other.

Whoever she is, Ms. Lenz is praying that this young woman will be healed.

“She may not be my sister or my daughter-in-law, but she’s somebody’s daughter,” she said. “Maybe she’s a sister or a mother … I’m sure she’s somebody’s friend. Maybe one day she’ll be my friend.”

While she admitted being nervous about the surgery, Ms. Lenz was resolved in her decision and the commitment she made so many years ago.

After all, this surgery provides the opportunity to fight the deadly disease that stole her cousin’s life and the possibility to save a life.