Courtesy Photo | U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Kari Armstrong, 142nd Maintenance Squadron commander, poses...... read more read more
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Portland, Ore.-- Lt. Col. Kari Armstrong, a former F-15E Weapon Systems Officer (WSO) and current commander of the 142nd Maintenance Squadron, never expected that a casual conversation over 10 years ago would lead her to save a life.
It started with a simple swab.
The swab was part of a DNA compatibility package from the Department of Defense (DoD) Bone Marrow Program, a registry that connects potential donors with recipients in need. At the time, Armstrong was still a young officer when the topic of the program came up in a meeting.
"I had never heard about the program until I was at Mountain Home Air Force Base and a fellow squadron member mentioned the program in passing," she recalled. “That evening, I googled the program online and had a kit mailed to me the next week.”
The “Salute to Life” DoD Bone Marrow Donation Program is dedicated to increasing the pool of potential donors within the military community. The initiative recruits service members and their families to join the registry, increasing the chances of finding compatible donors for patients battling leukemia, lymphoma, and other life-threatening conditions. Since its launch in 1991, the program has helped facilitate thousands of life-saving transplants for individuals in critical need throughout the world.
As the years passed after returning her DNA package, Armstrong nearly forgot about her registration altogether. In fact, it had been so long that when she received a text message informing her that she was a match for a patient, she thought it was a phishing attempt. "At first, I thought it was spam and did not respond," she said. Her doubts were quickly dispelled when she received a follow-up phone call from the organization confirming her compatibility. It was a call that set her on an emotional journey that would test her resilience and commitment.
Armstrong's match is not common. In fact, potential donors only have about a 1 in 430 chance of matching and donating to someone in need. To put that statistical unlikelihood into context, you're more likely to flip a coin and get heads 8 times in a row than ever go through the donation process.
Although the match was unlikely, the opportunity to help someone in need was a no-brainer for Armstrong. "I have always been of the mindset, if you can do something to help someone, you should," said Armstrong.
Once confirmed as the primary donor, Armstrong coordinated with the program to begin the process. While her journey would ultimately require her to travel to San Diego to donate, initially Armstrong could remain in Portland to receive the necessary injections to prepare her body for the donation.
"I had just taken command of the Maintenance Squadron eight days before the injections started to prepare me for the donation. Every morning at 6 a.m., a nurse would arrive at my house," she said. “They’d give me an injection and I’d go about my day.”
The side effects were uncomfortable. The injection Armstrong received each day essentially caused her bones to ache as stem cells within her bone marrow seeped into her bloodstream. "The discomfort and pain would increase each of the five days leading up to the donation, said Armstrong. “But in my opinion, any pain was a small price to pay to save a life.”
On donation day, Armstrong traveled to San Diego, where she spent six hours hooked up to a machine that cycled nine liters of blood through her body to extract the necessary cells. Despite the discomfort, she never wavered; knowing that on the other end of the process was a patient in desperate need of her help.
"There was no question in my mind that I was going through with it," said Armstrong. "Once they start preparing the patient [for donation], if you pull out, they will die. That was all I needed to know."
While the injections were painful, and the donation process was arduous, the real payoff came six months later when Armstrong received an update: her recipient—a male patient with leukemia —was still alive. "I got the call and I asked, 'are they still alive?' and they said 'yes'," recalled Armstrong. "That was an amazing moment."
For Armstrong, the experience was deeply personal. After experiencing severe blood loss during childbirth, she needed a transfusion herself. It underscored the power of donation, and how the kindness of strangers can make the difference between life and death.
"My sister wrote a note to the donor, saying 'thank you for donating this blood. It saved my sister's life’," said Armstrong. "I just think if there's any way to pay that forward, it's worth it."
In her view, military service and the opportunity to donate bone marrow go hand-in-hand. In spirit, they both symbolize an unwavering commitment to help and protect our community. Because of this, Armstrong hopes that if more servicemembers hear about the program, they'll be more inclined to sign up.
"I think most people who serve in the military have that servant heart to want to help," said Armstrong. "There's no greater fulfillment you can have as a human being than knowing that you helped another human survive."
For those interested in participating in the DoD Bone Marrow Donation Program, you can register online at salutetolife.org, or call 1-800-MARROW-3 for more information.
| Date Taken: | 03.21.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 03.21.2025 16:05 |
| Story ID: | 493440 |
| Location: | PORTLAND AIR GUARD STATION, OREGON, US |
| Web Views: | 57 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Service in her Bones: Oregon Guardsman Saves Life Through Bone Marrow Donation Program, by TSgt Alexander Frank, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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