Well, I underwent the donation procedure a coule of days ago and lived to tell the tale
I needed eight GCSF injections - two at a time for four consecutive days - prior to the harvest. These were designed to stimulate production of white blood cells. Of the expected side effects I suffered just a few aches and pains in the larger bones and some mild flu like symptoms. None of these were in the least bit dibilatating. The jabs themselves nipped a bit but were not painful.
On Wednesday I was attached to the apherisis machine. This involved a rather large needle (the same they use for blood donations) in the left arm and a smaller canular in the right. Strangely enough, the large needle was relatively painless whilst the canular hurt a fair bit as it was being inserted right next to my wrist bone.
I spent five and a half hours on the machine during which time I had to keep by left arm still.
The right arm could move but the position of the canular made movement fairly restricted.
The blood flowed out of the left arm into the machine which separated out the white blood cells before pumping it back throught the right arm. I got a bit of numbness in the hands, partly due to inactivity and partly due to calcium deficiency brought on by the anticoagulent added to the blood. This was eased by calcium tablets (not as horrible as they sound) and the addition of a calcium drip to the returning blood. This is, I believe, quite normal.
After the procedure they tested the harvested cells and luckily found out that they had enough so a second session on the machine the following day was not required. The numbness in the hands remained for a while but faded by the evening.
All in all, it has been a positive experience. Probably not recommended to the seriously needle-phobic amongst you or those with lousy veins. The recipient should be receiving the harvested cells today and I whish them well, whoever and wherever they are. Full marks to the Anthony Nolan Trust who look after the donors very well. I was supplied with flexible flights from Glasgow, a reasonable hotel in London for both Mrs Balix and I and a lot of support and back-up.
Just a final note regarding licensing - the CAA suspended my licence when I commenced the GCSF injections. They require me to have a blood test (more needles) that shows my blood levels back to normal. The medics at the Anthony Nolan Trust reckon that that normality should return a week or so after the apheresis procedure so if you are called to donate by this method, your Class One may well be suspended for 1.5-2 weeks. I hope your line managers are as undestanding as mine have been
One last rallying cry - the Anthony Nolan Trust are always recruiting potential donors. They are particularly targeting young males (like what I was when I joined) and ethnic minorities. So if you fall into this, or any other category (I think you have to be under 40) why not give them a call or visit their website
http://www.anthonynolan.org.uk and find out when the next recruitment clinic is going to be in your area.
(Mods, I hope this last paragraph is allowed as it is a charity, not a commercial organisation. If not, feel free to edit it out.)