HOUSTON – Since the 1990s, survival rates for people in need of a bone marrow transplant have improved dramatically and the method to become a donor has gotten easier than ever.
Many would say the main thing that needs to improve is getting more minorities to become donors.
Even though ethnic background isn’t a factor for who you match with; compatible blood types and tissue markers are more likely to be found among members of the same ethnic group, increasing the chances of a successful match.
One Houston man had a total stranger be a match for him, and the two were surprised by how similar their backgrounds are.
“There is a saying in, Sanskrit, Vasudeva Kumbakonam, which is ‘a world is one family.’ I think this particular incident in my life, is perfectly, you know, perfectly matching with the saying,” said Arkesh Patel.
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Arkesh Patel signed up to be a donor 11 years ago. At a collection booth in Chicago, he swabbed his cheek and other than a few e-mails throughout the years never heard from the organization again.
“I had no idea, you know, what’s the process? How does that bone marrow thing work?” Arkesh Patel wondered. “The only motivation for me… if, whenever it’s needed, you know, I’ll be there for them.”
The person who needed him was Anuj Patel who was diagnosed with leukemia years later here in Houston.
“I had 80% of my bone marrow cells being cancerous,” explained Anuj Patel.
Anuj Patel needed chemo and a blood stem cell transplant.
Luckily, he had a match for that transplant already waiting for him.
That 11-year-old swab Arkesh Patel had given in Chicago was the perfect match for Anuj Patel living hundreds of miles away.
Once further testing confirmed the two were a match, Arkesh went through a “conditioning” process, injecting himself with stem cells before going into a clinic to donate them (just as you would a blood donation.)
The transplant was successful, and Anuj Patel is cancer free now.
A year after the transplant, the two Patels were able to find out each other’s identity and set up a video phone call.
When Anuj and Arkesh’s families first met via zoom, they were shocked by the parallels in their life.
“I was not prepared to see, you know, glasses this facial hair like, literally staring right back at us!” said Arkesh’s wife Perri Patel. “Then, you know, it’s him and his wife and then their two boys who were literally about a year younger than our two boys. So, it’s the four of them, the four of us, and, in certain ways, it was kind of like looking in a mirror.”
“Anuj and I, we are not relatives. we don’t know each other. Of course, we are Patels, but the Patel is a huge community back home. Although, our villages are kind of in a 10 to 20 miles of radius,” Arkesh Patel explained.
Arkesh Patel said he feels honored to help someone with the transplant. He said the process was so simple. Plus, it confirms to him “the world is one family.”
“Our DNA, our bone marrow matches a lot. Even though we have been generations apart. Different families, different village. So, it’s fascinating how it works,” Arkesh Patel said.
If you’re interested in becoming a donor, visit https://my.bethematch.org/KPRC or text KPRC to 61474.
If you’re interested in getting more information, Perri Patel and NMDP (formerly known as Be The Match) is hosting an event on June 18th in the Heights. Click here for details on that event.
