Samantha Price became a physician specifically to help people get well.So she was thrilled when a new means of assisting the sick opened up to her.It was shortly after Christmas that Dr Price received a call from Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute informing her she was able to donate her bone marrow to someone battling leukemia.“I got the phone call while I was at lunch with my mother and I started to cry,” she said. “My mother was wondering who I was talking to and what they could be saying to make me cry.“I was overcome that I could physically give of my own body to help another human being. It’s an absolutely fantastic experience.”Dr Price doesn’t know the person who will get her bone marrow.“All I know is that he is a 51-year-old man with chronic leukemia,” she said.Dr Price had her blood tested during a local drive to find a donor for the late Diane Dismont in 2004.Ms Dismont had leukemia those who came foward to assist had their names entered in the National Bone Marrow Registry in the US.Dr Price said she was contacted last August by the registry and told that her blood was possibly a match for someone who needed a transplant.“They asked me if I was still willing to be a donor and I said yes,” she said.Her agreement led to a retest of the sample of blood the registry had collected in 2004. Confirming that the sample was a match for the leukemia patient, doctors at Dana-Farber then conducted three additional rounds of blood tests on Dr Price.“Each round of blood testing was more advanced in looking for compatibility with the recipient,” she said. She doesn’t know exactly how closely her blood matched that of the recipient, but she said: “It had to be pretty close.”Dr Price said she also had to complete a lengthy, detailed questionnaire. It included questions on her personal medical history, alcohol consumption and IV drug use. And because she is a physician, information on any needle stick injuries was also sought.“They even asked me where I’ve lived,” she said. “I had lived in the UK during the outbreak of Mad Cow disease and I thought they might disqualify me based on that, but they didn’t. They wanted to look at every potential problem and make sure there wasn’t any reason why I couldn’t go forward in the programme.”At every round her blood made the cut.“I received a letter at the beginning of December that all my blood work was compatible,” she said. “So at the beginning of December I knew I was his match, but it wasn’t until between Christmas and New Year’s that I knew I was going to do this.”Dr Price said she was never hesitant about undergoing major surgery.“I was nervous about how I would feel after, not so much about the procedure itself,” she said.Having talked with other bone marrow donors, she was gearing up to be in severe pain after the procedure. She was on painkillers when she spoke with Body & Soul last week but said the pain at its worst, was moderate.“It feels like an annoying toothache,” she said. “I get the impression from doctors and nurses that I’ve been very lucky and gotten off more lightly than average. It’s not what I had expected at all.”She had her bone marrow surgery at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts on February 17.“The doctors and nurses were fantastic,” she said. “They treated me like gold. They explained everything carefully and fully. Small incisions were made in my lower back and a needle inserted in the pelvic bone. The marrow was drawn out through the pelvic bone itself.”Done under general anesthesia, the surgery lasted about an hour 1.2 litres of bone marrow was collected.She said she had been warned that there was a 60 percent chance she might have to stay in the hospital due to pain.“They kept me overnight to keep an eye on my blood count,” she said. This quickly normalised as she was given a pint of blood she had donated when she had gone for a physical a few weeks before the surgery.Dr Price returned home last week.She said she was most comfortable standing sitting upright and rolling off her back were painful. But she was taking it in stride and said she would definitely be back seeing her patients at Island Health Services on Monday.“The most difficult part is that I’ve been told I cannot go to the gym for at least six to eight weeks. I’m worried because I have to get into my wedding dress in September,” she joked.She said she’s been deeply touched by all the support from friends and family.“So many people called up and sent me little notes offering to help and saying if there’s anything at all that I needed I should just let them know. It really made me feel loved,” she said.High on the support list was her fiancé Mike, who was by her side throughout the donor process.The recipient has not yet received her gift.“His surgery is slated for March 4. He had to have some dental work done to ensure his risk of infection is as low as possible,” she said.Dr Price said she is expecting an update a month after his operation, then three months, then six months.“After a year we will be allowed to meet, so I am really looking forward to March 4, 2012,” she said. “My birthday is on March 3, so it will be a great birthday present.”Anyone interested in donating bone marrow should contact the National Bone Marrow Registry in the US: nmdpdonor[AT]dfci.harvard.edu.