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Story #22 of 50 days, 50 Stories Campaign
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My first encounter with DATRI was organizing a donor registration drive on a women-only campus. As I saw bold and independent women around me on my campus, I believed this cause and donation would be readily acceptable just like a blood donation. Then Aby, who was the Drive Coordinator for Kerala, shared his experiences that usually, it will be an inadequate response from lady audience in donor drives and when they become a match for a patient. Even though I didn’t get a whole dimension of what he says, I strongly followed my thoughts on “Why there is only Heros no Heroines?
“In 2016, I was still a volunteer, one day I was asked to support a Female Counselling, and I still remember Aby’s words “Now you try bringing your Heroine”. Then started the never-ending game ‘The Female Donor Counselling’. The first two female donations happened in Kerala in 2017, and we have 23 heroines to date. Now I completely get all the dimensions that Aby was saying long back. Female counselling never ends with a Donor Agreed Stage, that’s is when the actual roller coaster ride starts and ends at Post Donation.
Donor Counselling; The Acceptance
The whole cause and Blood Stem Cell Donation Procedure is not really familiar in Indian societies like Blood Donation or Platelet Donation. Most of the time, women are not decision-makers and blindly follow what their trusted ones or family says. Hence it’s is a difficult task to convey multiple people involved in the decision-making about the importance and safe side of the need, while a long delay for confirmation can come unfavorable for the patient. When they get in touch with a person who knows about the donation, it helps to clear major misunderstandings. It can be a family Doctor, a previously donated donor, someone from their organization, or their place who knows DATRI and the cause in depth.
Handling Donor Family – A Roller Coaster Ride
When a donor is entirely positive and wishes to donate, they may need to convince the people around them. We always convey it is completely voluntarily and make them feel pressurised for a ‘Yes’. The counsellor can only make a donor or family understand the importance of going ahead. Once they put effort to communicate with us, we can gradually address the concerns and parallelly guide them.
Work Up Planning – Yet Another Adventure
Even though the donor and family agreed to proceed, they will still have another round of insecurities once discussing work up. Again donor cannot confirm herself for the next plans like Donor Health Check Up and Donation. We need to check and ensure for multiple people availability who will be traveling with the donor. At this stage in between, we might be getting random calls from numerous people connected with donor and family part of their rechecking and re ensuring the safety side of both the process and traveling part.
Travel – The Obstacle
It might be the first time for donors and families traveling away from their hometown. Over that, most of them never encountered hospital emergencies. Both situations will create obstacles while planning travel if we have to request to travel at odd hours early morning or late at night. They never trust sending a random cab driver to pick them up, again assured giving phone calls to be done. Since it is a first-time long trip, donor and family members will be getting travel sick and failing to care for them. We comfort them to opt for a female coordinator’s presence, during traveling or at the hospital.
Never Ending Concerns – Empathise and Comfort without Limit
In the initial time of female counselling with back-to-back negative responses, I was stuck on how to resolve the issues and manage to get better responses. One day I thought to experience it on me and told my family that I’m a donor match and need to donate. Initially, the father and brother not seemed bothered, but the mother gave a very shocking response. She was about to cry, and I could see her facial expression changing in extreme fear. Even though her response will never affect my decision for donation, it gave me a pain inside thinking my mother will be continuously worried throughout the donation steps. I realized how a female donor feels, one side their wish to donate, and the other side handling the family’s sentimental side.
At the time of Donor Health Check-Up, it is the best situation to meet the donor and family, get along with them, talk to them about the donation, and relate things considering the donor’s sensitivity. A primary person interacting with them from counseling until donation will create more comfort. Create Your Own Power – Counselling Female Donors.
Femoral or PBSC
60% Female Donations, Femoral Line, is the only option. Even if we do not need counsel donors for femoral donation initially, we shall share little mentions on this option by sharing such donor stories and slowly making them aware of the backup option other than peripheral veins. At this stage, we may need to handle back-to-back concerns from family till post-donation.
If it is a PBSC donation donor can go home on the same day evening post-donation. In the case of Femoral veins used, it takes a namesake overnight hospital stay to ensure safety and the donor can go home the next day only.
Post Donation Follow Up
We always keep in touch with the donor for the next few days of donation and ensure if they are doing good. Usually, such long-term interactions end up with a healthy friendship and most of those heroines help me to motivate future female donors.
Unexpected Learnings
For a female work up, Menstrual Cycle, Pregnancy and Post Donation Photoshoot are the most sensitive three things. Work up to be discussed and planned considering the safe dates as some hospitals won’t do donation during the menstrual cycle, and it is not possible otherwise as well if it is a femoral donation. Considering a collection date close to the monthly process has put us in trouble many times as donor may get an early start with the physical pain from the mobilisation of stem cells. And also giving GCSF injections during such days will provide more physical pain to the donor.
We do 2 Serum Pregnancy Tests during Health Check Up and before starting GCSF to ensure there are no unexpected pregnancies.
We only publish donation pictures with signed donor consent. And always use pictures selected by the Donor as sometimes the picture might come bad if they are wearing a hospital dress. Trust me women are particular about it.
About DATRI:
DATRI is a Not-for-Profit organization founded in 2009 with a mission to save lives of those suffering from life-threatening Fatal blood disorders like Blood Cancer, Thalassemia, Leukemia, Aplastic Anemia, Sickle Cell Anaemia, etc.
DATRI is registered with the Government of India as a Section 8 organization, and all monetary contributions towards DATRI are subject to 80G exemptions
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About the Author:
Athulya Krishna is a Psychology enthusiast and Social Worker started volunteering with DATRI since 2015. She is now holding the role as a “Senior Associate – Donor Recruitment and Counseling” for Kerala. Being a Computer Science Graduate, Athulya was least intrested for a career in IT and finds passion in touching human lives. She is actively involved with creating awareness for Chronic Invisible Illnesses and Arthritis finds so connected with DATRI’s cause in finding someone’s final hope.