Harvest Time

apheresis machine THE MOMENT HAS ARRIVED to collect the stem cells I will need to donate to myself for my transplant next week.

I’m posting from the UA Cancer Center where I am connected to a machine that pumps my blood in and out of my body through my CVC catheter. The device is called a cell separator or apheresis machine, and it has clear plastic tubes that are connected to my “danglers” (remember them?).

The connections mean I must be confined to a bed for four hours today. Glad there’s good WIFI here in the clinic, so I can distract myself in various ways, including a bit of reading about my new mechanical companion.

The photo is from the Web, but it’s almost the exact model we’re using here. A very diligent nurse from the Red Cross is tending to it and to me, and she has explained its basic functions. Basically it’s a pump with a centrifuge inside. Blood flows into it from one of my two tubes then into the centrifuge, which separates it into components. The stem cells (a tiny fraction) are kept aside and the rest is returned via the other tube.

The hardest part of the experience is staying still — always a challenge for me. At this moment I’m almost half way through with today’s session. In a few hours we’ll have a count. If I hit my numbers, I’ll be done with this process. If not, I can come for a return engagement tomorrow.

I’ll let you know.