Beyond the call of duty: Airman's bone marrow saves baby

  • Published
  • By Gwenn McElwee
  • 97th Training Squadron
ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Military members know that they may be called on to do the right thing and to save lives, but Airmen are seldom called upon to take the steps that an Altus Air Force Base, Okla., Technical Sergeant recently took.

Technical Sgt. Jason Soule, a basic loadmaster instructor for the 97th Training Squadron, consented to a DNA swab of his mouth a year ago when a dependent child here was in need of a bone marrow donation.
A family at Altus AFB needed the help of a bone marrow doner to save their daughter's life. The base chapel helped get the word out and petitioned for volunteers.

Sergeant Soule didn't understand why the little girl's parents could not provide the bone marrow; but he found out that parents of a child have no more than a one in 10,000 chance of being a match, no more than a complete stranger. Sergeant Soule, having two girls of his own, knew that if it were one of his girls, he would hope someone would be willing to step in to try and save them.

He went for the test, but was not a match. However test results stay in the Bone Marrow National Registry system for a possible match. Some people in the registry system can be on the list for years and never be called upon.

To Sergeant Soule's surprise, six months later he received a phone call from the Sylvan N. Goldman Center Oklahoma Blood Institute in Oklahoma City. A seven-month-old baby girl on the list was a match and she needed his bone marrow in order for her life to continue." Because of privacy clauses all he was told was that she was fighting for her life, battling Leukemia. Another test was needed to ensure that he was the likely match. Based on the previous test, he was a strong possibility.

Sergeant Soule traveled to Presbyterian Hospital in Oklahoma City for further testing. His tissue and blood results were a match. With his bone marrow donation this little girl's life would change and be as if she was starting from a clean slate. Doctors said that she would no longer have Leukemia and would be healthy.

Feb. 16 the procedure took place, taking less than an hour.

"Everyone was professional," Sergeant Soule said. "They knew what they were doing, and I didn't feel a thing." The doctor used a hollow needle to go through the pelvic bone from the back side to obtain the marrow
"I didn't have any stitches, only a band aid," Sergeant Soule said. "I walked out and went to the Red Robin to eat a hamburger and fries with only what felt like a bruise." The procedure was performed on a Friday, and he was at the gym on Monday."

"I would encourage everyone to join the National Bone Marrow Registry," Sergeant Soule said, "because this program offers hope and help to families around the world." He has already received feedback from an Oklahoma Blood Institute volunteer that the infant girl received the bone marrow and is doing well.

Sergeant Soule is an instructor for the Initial Loadmaster Qualification course and has been in the Air Force for 13 years. Eight of those years were as an instructor with the last 2-½ years as a BLM instructor at Altus AFB.

Information on becoming a blood marrow donor is available at: http://www.marrow.org/HELP/Join_the_Registry/index.html.