Rosen gives the gift of life
A 42-YEAR-OLD Jewish man from Melbourne is being hailed as “remarkable” after helping save the life of someone he has never even met.
A 42-YEAR-OLD Jewish man from Melbourne is being hailed as “remarkable” after helping save the life of someone he has never even met.
Craig Rosen was discovered to be a perfect tissue match for a critically ill patient overseas after an international search, and donated his stem cells late last month after a long series of procedures and tests.
He was discovered to be a match by the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry (ABMDR), which he has been registered with since 2007 after seeing a promotion for Gift of Life Australia (GOLA).
“When you register with GOLA, they do a tissue type test and put all that information on their database,” he told The AJN. “If someone needs a bone marrow or stem cell transplant, the chance of them finding a match in a sibling is about 25-30 per cent. Outside their family, the best chance of finding a match is within their ethnic gene pool.”
Rosen received the call from ABMDR three months ago and required extensive medical testing before the procedure went ahead, including a full physical exam and blood work.
While the recipient was prepped with chemotherapy to kill their white blood cells ahead of the transplant, Rosen was put on a course of hormone injections to stimulate his own stem cell production.
“The hormones created new stem cells which spill over into my blood stream.
“These stem cells create new white blood cells for the recipient,” Rosen explained.
The doctors hooked Rosen up to a plasmapheresis machine, which separates stem cells from the rest of the blood.
The patient’s identity, gender, age and location are unknown, but Rosen was told the transplant was a success.
“Craig is a remarkable person and I’m in awe of him,” GOLA Victorian coordinator Yehuda Kaplan said. “Here is someone willing to undergo what he went through for someone he doesn’t even know.”
Rosen said it was a privilege to help. “I was really humbled for the opportunity to help someone this way.
“The hormone injections were an uncomfortable few days but I was being called upon to help save the life of someone who is desperately ill.
“I would do it all again tomorrow.”
For more information, visit http://www.giftoflifeaustralia.org.au.
ALEXANDRA ROACH
Lianne and Craig Rosen during Craig’s stem cell donation procedure.
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