[thechosenone]

Dear Marlene and Lbrown,

Thank you so much for you kind supoort. Even though the SCH occurred in late October 2011, emotions are still pretty raw. I have been procrastinating re following up with the Hospital re my experience.

And to Donna J, you make some valid points including about what aspects should be considered when providing support to donors.
In my case I am a permanent employee, and therefore eligible to accrue sick leave. I needed to use 4 months sick leave (not 3 months as I previously mentioned). As we grow older, the likelihood of needing sick leave increases. And I am one of the lucky ones.
What about those who are self employed, and have family/friends who rely on your care? How would they survive in these circumstances.

Donna, your point that the Hospital should provide relevant information to the donor, including potential side effects, is most pertinent. The Neupogen package I was given contained a pamphlet that included information on side effects. It stated that I should contact a doctor immediately if I had severe pain in upper LHS of abdomen, as it could be a symptom of an enlarged spleen. And as you know, the doctor dismissed this out of hand.

I was also told that the procedure is just like donating blood.
Stem cell harvesting involves your whole circulatory system being recirculated at least 4 to 5 time through the stem cell extraction machine.
The donor procedure was trivialised.

I would love for other donors to relate their experiences, including how they were treated by the Hospital staff (ie as a person or just a donor), how well the Hospital prepared you for the procedure, level of support you were given before during and after the procedure, and any side effects experienced.