Email: info@tomcovey.com

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Quincy Herald Whig Article 6/18/04

Quincy man fights for his life

Quincyan Tom Covey, diagnosed with a fast-acting form of leukemia
in March, needs a blood stem cell transplant to survive.
His two siblings aren’t a match, and the one person on the National
Marrow Donor Registry who is a perfect match decided not to go
through with the stem cell donation. So he waits ... and hopes.

About 30,000 children and adults in the United States are diagnosed
each year with one of 70 life-threatening diseases for which a blood
stem cell transplant could be a cure.

“This is one of the easiest ways to save a person’s life,”
said Melannie Covey, Tom’s wife.
She called Dave Jones, donor recruitment representative for the American Red
Cross, to ask about the possibility of a drive to recruit people
to join the national registry and become potential stem cell
donors.
Jones thought it was a great idea, and a drive is set for
noon to 6 p.m. July 6 in conjunction with a blood drive at
the Quincy Mall Community Room. Minority donors are in
particular need. “It’s a way to save someone’s
life, and the need is so great,” Jones said. “For some
people, this is the only hope they have.”
Patients need the stem cells to grow healthy new immune
systems. Stem cells are the immature cells that can develop
into any of the cells present in the blood stream — red
blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Stem cells usually
are in bone marrow but also are released, in small numbers,
into the circulating blood. The stem cells are collected
for transplants either through a bone marrow donation,
which involves a surgical procedure, or a method called
peripheral blood stem cell donation, which is similar to
donating platelets at a blood bank. There is no cost to the
donor for either procedure, and travel costs also are paid.
People who join the national registry July 6 will join more
than 5 million potential stem cell donors.
The odds of matching a patient vary widely, depending
on the rarity of the donor’s tissue type. This means a volunteer
may never be called. But if someone is identified as a
match, the donor may be the only person who can provide
the life-saving transplant. Siblings are the best match,
but only 30 percent of patients find a matched donor in their
family.
A drop of blood from a finger stick for a tissue typing test
is all it takes to join the registry. For those already giving
blood that day, they’ll have another tube of blood taken at
the end of the collection. People must be ages 18 to
60, in general good health with no history of cancer, diabetes,
heart disease or heart attack. They must be willing to
consider donating to any patient searching the registry.
Jones hopes to add about 100 people to the registry during
the drive. The cost of 50 tests have been covered
through sponsorships, and Jones hopes more people will
come forward to offer sponsorships. Each test costs the
Red Cross $63.
Melannie Covey looks at the drive as an educational
tool and hopes people understand the need to become
members of the national registry, and that they need to be
serious about being a potential donor.
“I don’t want them to back out if they’re a match,” she
said. “It was devastating for us.”
Tom Covey just finished his second round of chemotherapy,
and if a match doesn’t come through within the next
30 to 45 days, he’ll probably need more chemotherapy until
a donor can be found. “They are looking for a few
people who are ‘mismatched’ donors, to see if they are close
enough of a match,” Melannie said. “If so, they will use one
of them.”
Tom’s illness — and the wait for a stem cell transplant
— has been tough on the family. “It’s unbelievably difficult
for us,” Melannie said. “We were just discussing how perfect
everything was in our life, and now this happened.”
The Coveys have two children, a daughter who is nearly
1 and a son who will turn 3 this month.
“The 3-year-old understands that Daddy is sick, that
Daddy has to go to the doctor a lot and to the hospital a lot,”
Melannie said. “That’s what’s hard on Tom.”
Melannie is doing all she can to encourage people to
join the marrow donor registry, and not just because her
husband is searching for a match.
“This drive is not for Tom,” she said. “It is for anyone with
leukemia or some other type of blood disorder. It could save a
person’s life. I can’t stress that enough.”
To make an appointment to join the National Marrow
Donor Program July 6, call (800) 728-3543, ext. 326.

Contact Staff Writer Kelly
Wilson at kwilson@whig.com or
(217) 221-3391
Photo courtesy of Phillip Carlson

Donating: A Brief Look

Members of the National Marrow Donor Program may be called
to donate stem cells either through a bone marrow donation or a
process called peripheral blood stem cell donation. In both
instances, a consent form must be signed and a thorough physical
examination is arranged. Here’s what to expect with
each procedure:
Bone Marrow Donation:
The donor enters the hospital — most likely in St. Louis or Chicago
for Quincy area residents — either the night before or the day of the
marrow donation. They would remain in the hospital for several
hours or overnight after the marrow collection.
All donors receive general or regional (spinal or epidural) anesthesia,
and the liquid marrow is removed from the rear of the pelvic
bone using a special needle and syringe. The process generally lasts
60 minutes, and the incision is so small no stitches are necessary.
The removal does not affect the donor’s white cell or platelet count
and the marrow is completely replenished in four to six weeks.
Donors can expect to feel some discomfort in their lower back for
several days.
Blood Stem Cell Donation:
The donor is given an injection of a drug called Filgrastim daily for
four or five days before the donation to stimulate the production of
stem cells.
During the donation — which must be done at a center either in
Peoria or St. Louis for Quincy area residents — the donor’s blood is
removed through a sterile needle placed in a vein in one arm and
passed through an apheresis machine that separates out the
stem cells. The remaining blood is returned to the donor through a
sterile needle in the other arm.
Donors may experience bone pain, muscle pain, nausea, insomnia
and fatigue while receiving Filgrastim. Headaches and bone pain
are the two most frequently reported symptoms. These effects disappear
when the collection is complete.
Source: National Marrow Donor Program & the Quincy Herald-Whig