Bone marrow donation
Bridie Burrell was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia during the Christmas school holidays in 2004. She had a bone marrow transplant the following year.
During school term, I felt completely healthy. But during the holidays, just before the new year, I experienced dizziness and walking to the bathroom felt like I'd run a marathon. I thought it was a cold, but when I turned a bit greenish and didnt eat for a few days, my parents sent me to the GP.
Bridies GP suspected flu, but because her grandfatherhad diabetes, he ordered a blood test. During the testing, I fainted and ended up in the hospital for three weeks. I received three units of blood in the first 12 hours because my haemoglobin level was so low.
Bridie had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a blood disease that develops when the white cells of the blood go into overdrive, dividing too fast and overproducing.
Six months of intensive chemotherapy followed, which had a number of side effects. Bridie lost her hair and appetite, and she felt tired and sick all the time.
The steroids I was on made me eat like a pig on some days. I also got upset very easily. If I woke up early in the morning and no one was up yet, I would cry.
Doctors then discovered that Bridies chemotherapy was not working and told her she needed a bone marrow transplant. Nobody in her family was a match, so doctors searched the international bone marrow registers. Luckily, a match was found four months later and Bridie had her transplant in 2005.
But Bridie's recovery was not without its problems.
Shortly after I was discharged, I had to go back into hospital for an emergency operation for septicaemia. Then I went tohospital again for two months to be treated for pneumonia.
Bridie lost not only her health but also her way of life while her treatment was going on. She could no longer take part in her much-loved netballor hang out with friends because her parents worried about her health. It was a lonely time.
Today, things are looking much better for Bridie and shes beginning to get back to her old life. She's catching up with friends and her father has built a swimming pool in the garden so she can start exercising again and build up her strength.
She was previously on a cocktail of 14 different drugs, but is now on three. I was emptying a cupboard full of drugs with my dad and I said, This is such a milestone, we should have a party! It felt good to get rid of a big bag of medicine.
There's a video of me recorded after the transplant, and I looked miserable because I thought the illness should have ended, and it hadn't. Looking back, I really should have been more grateful that I got a match. Donors are heroes in their own right, and they probably dont realise what a big deal their act of giving is to those who receive it.
A bone marrow donation is a relatively straightforward medical procedure. Diseased or damaged bone marrow can be replaced by donated bone marrow cells, which help treat and often cure many life-threatening conditions
Bone marrow transplants are required when a persons bone marrow becomes damaged or diseased to such an extent that it stops functioning properly
Bone marrow donors must have a tissue type that is compatible with the person who is going to receive their bone marrow. If a suitable bone marrow donor cannot be found from family members, doctors will try to find someone with a compatible tissue type on the bone marrow donor register.
If you are on the bone marrow register and you are identified as a potential donor, you may be asked to provide a blood sample. If your tissue type matches the patient who requires bone marrow, you may be selected to donate.
If you would like to become a potential bone marrow donor, you must be 18 to 49 years of age, in good general health and over 7 stone 12 pounds (50kg) in weight
Bridie Burrell was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia during the Christmas school holidays in 2004. She had a bone marrow transplant the following year.