Brian Loos didn’t know much about the national bone marrow registry when he joined nine years ago.
He knew it required only a couple swipes of a cotton swab across his cheek to be added to the registry. And he knew the program saved lives.
“I said, ‘Yeah, sure,’ and thought nothing of it ever again,” Loos said.
That is until his phone rang last August.
That’s when Loos learned he was a potential match for a stranger in need of a bone marrow transplant. After the preliminary testing, Loos learned he was a perfect match.
“I was in shock,” he said. “It was like, ‘Whoa, I’m the guy.’”
He later learned the stranger was a 15-year-old boy with acute myeloid leukemia.
Acute myeloid leukemia is a fast-growing cancer that starts inside the bone marrow, which is the soft tissue inside bones that helps form blood cells. AML is one of the most common types of leukemia among adults, but is rare for those younger than 40, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
The boy, whose identity remains unknown, is one of thousands of people with leukemia, lymphoma and other life-threatening diseases who depend on the national registry to find a bone marrow match.
Loos, a Clark County native who now lives in Longview, is one of 9 million people who has joined the Be The Match Registry (http://www.marrow.org) as a bone marrow donor. Since the registry was created in 1987, the organization has facilitated more than 43,000 transplants.
After learning he was a match, Loos flew to Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C., to undergo an extensive physical.
Two months later, Loos took time off from his job as a crew chief for Clark County Public Works and returned to D.C. with his wife, Mary, for the transplant procedure.
Doctors used a hollow needle to withdraw liquid marrow from two spots on the back of the Loos’ pelvic bone. He donated about 1,500 milliliters of marrow, enough to fill three-quarters of a 2-liter soda pop bottle. The donation was less than 5 percent of the marrow in Loos’ body.
After the donation was collected, a courier took the marrow to the boy’s doctor. The marrow was then administered to the teen through an IV.
After the procedure, Loos recovered in D.C. for a couple days before flying back to the Northwest. He used pain pills sparingly and was able to return to work a week after the surgery. Fatigue was the biggest side affect.
“The pain wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought,” he said.
Today, the marks on Loos’ back are the only remaining sign of the procedure.
“I’d do it again. No question,” Loos said. “We’re all so busy. We just go through life. It just makes you look at life and what’s really truly important.”
Loos still doesn’t know the boy’s name or where he lives, but Loos does know the boy is out of the hospital and recovering.
This December, Loos may get the opportunity to meet the teen. If both parties are willing, the program will coordinate a meeting. Loos has already said he is willing to meet the boy.
“I hope I have the opportunity, but I truly respect if they choose not to,” Loos said.
Even if he doesn’t get the chance to meet the teen, the Columbia River High School grad said he’s grateful for the experience and for the opportunity to help someone in need.
“I believe in this world we should do the best we can and give the best we can,” Loos said. “Some things are not in our control. This is an example of that.”
Marissa Harshman: 360-735-4546 or marissa.harshman@columbian.com.
