A Drumheller RCMP officer had the chance to help save another person through his generosity, and says he would, do it again in a heartbeat.
Eric Doucette has been donating blood for many years and in 2006, decided he would put his name on the Stem Cell donation list. This means that since then he has been a potential donor.
“I thought that if I could help in another way, that would be great,” said Doucette.
In the spring of 2013 Canadian Blood Services contacted him that he may be a potential donor.
He explains there are a number of genetic markers they look for to match a person with the donor. He went through a number of blood, and health tests.
Stem cells are used often for people treated with radiation to help them begin to restore the tissue damaged during cancer treatment. When Doucette was called to donate, the person to receive the stem cells was already in treatment.
The donation process was very involved. Doucette went to the Tom Baker cancer centre Calgary and spent four days getting injections to increase his stem cell count to the point that it enters the blood stream. He said the process left him with achy flu like symptoms.
After that, he was hooked up to a machine much like dialysis where blood was taken from one arm sent through a machine that separates the stem cells, and returns the blood through the other arm.
After eight motionless hours, he had to return a day later for another four hours of this process.
While he never learned too much about the person he donated to, he does know that the donation followed radiation, and unfortunately the person passed away from an unrelated infection. He has also spoken to the person’s family.
While it was an involved process, Doucette says he would do it again, and a donor can donate more than once. He was presented a plaque from Canadian Blood Serves for his effort.
“I would dot it again in a heart beat, and I encourage others to do it as well,” he said.
