When Theta Chi president Cody Lopez first got his cheek swabbed at a University of Idaho event in November of 2012, he had no idea that he would eventually be chosen to save a child’s life by donating his bone marrow.
Ryan Clark | Courtesy
Cody Lopez (right) and Ryan Clark (left) participated in a “Get Swabbed” event organized by a member of the University of Idaho’s Theta Chi Fraternity in November 2012. The event helped recruit bone marrow donors from all races and ethnicities to help leukemia patients. Lopez received an email in February 2013 saying he may be a match for a little girl, and in April he flew out to Washington D.C. for the surgery.
The 3-year-old girl diagnosed with childhood leukemia had been sick for two years when doctors pulled Lopez’s blood information, he said.
Now, another member of Theta Chi has been selected. Ryan Clark remains in a two-month grace period before being officially selected to be a donor, but the probability is high.
“As far as I know right now, (the recipient) is someone under the age of ten,” Clark said.
Lopez and Clark both have O+ blood. The processes of selecting a donor is intensive and only one in every 5 million people who get swabbed are picked.
“It’s weird how Cody got selected, and then I got selected too,” Clark said. “It’s been amazing but odd that this has happened.”
Lopez and Clark are best friends, big brother- little brother siblings in their fraternity house, and now they have a shared experience of giving a literal piece of themselves to someone else.
“I was there when Cody got it done,” Clark said. “It’s important to do what’s right, and when you have the potential to save someone’s life, so it’s not much of a choice.”
After donating the bone marrow, Lopez has received updates every three months from DKMS, the non-profit organization that helped him with the process. One year after his donation, he and the receiving family can decide together if they will be in contact.
“I just want a picture,” Lopez said. “I want to see what she looks like.”
Lopez’s donation operation was scheduled the week before dead week. He said he slept most of the days afterward, as the procedure is notoriously fatiguing. Luckily, he said, he had brothers from his fraternity take notes for him in class.
“I was excused from classes because I couldn’t walk,” Lopez said. “But I studied hard for those weeks and made it through.”
Contrastingly, Clark’s operation will hopefully take place before school starts, he said. The nearest hospital possible for the procedure is Berkeley, Calif., but he may have to go as far as Washington D. C. like Lopez did.
“I’ll go where ever it’s possible to do the procedure,” Clark said.
Only 3 percent of donations require the hip operation procedure Lopez went through. Generally, the process is as simple as a blood transfusion.
“I was very nervous,” Lopez said. “The whole time I was teamed with a representative who kept calling me to tell me the risks… They sat in the back of my head while I was traveling.”
Ultimately, Lopez said it was worth it.
“I would do it over and over again if I could,” Lopez said. “We’re talking about a 3-year-old’s life here. At one point they didn’t know if she would have an opportunity to be someone.”
Clark feels the same way. He said that he and Lopez have the same perspective on the whole process.
“There are risks but the reward is so much greater,” Clark said. “Not many people would say no to saving someone.”
Toward the beginning of the fall 2013 semester, Theta Chi will sponsor another Get Swabbed event on campus in the University of Idaho commons.
“I think the whole process takes about seven minutes,” Lopez said. “Our whole house will be advertising it.”
Alycia Rock can be reached at [email protected]