Swabbing for a match
The next bone marrow donation registration event will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 17 between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. at Sandia New Mexico. Check Sandia Daily News for location information.
A few months can change everything. Sandian Kim Hussong learned that first-hand earlier this year. In June, Kim and her longtime partner, Bobby were on a road trip to Mount Rushmore, exploring the country. Weeks later, they were in and out of doctors’ offices, trying to understand why Bobby’s blood tests from an annual physical weren’t normal.
The devastating diagnosis came soon after: Bobby had blood cancer and required a bone marrow transplant.
“Whenever you have a loved one, you never want to hear that kind of news,” Kim said. “It was very upsetting news to me. I think Bobby delayed telling me because he knew how it would affect me.”
Facing the diagnosis together
The diagnosis marked a turning point for the couple, who has been together for 29 years.
“We met in the 1990s at Honeywell Defense Avionics when I was asked to cover for the facilities front desk employee,” Kim recalled. Bobby was the facilities coordinator at the time. “I remember that he knew exactly how many square feet of space were at the plant, as well as the cooling, heating and billing statistics for the size of the building.”
Kim and Bobby soon started dating and have been together ever since.
They long considered themselves a married couple but never made it official until recently. On October 4, 2024, Kim and Bobby became husband and wife.
“I now say that it was such a blessing in disguise,” Kim said. “Even in the midst of cancer, it’s been the greatest blessing.”
Looking for a match
Aside from enduring chemotherapy, the next big challenge for Kim and Bobby is finding a bone marrow match. Doctors turned to the worldwide database but didn’t find a match after an initial search.
“People think it’s easy but it’s not. There are so many markers that a person must match to be an ideal candidate,” Kim said.
Determined to find a match, Kim set out to find one. She started with her colleagues at Sandia where she has worked since 2003 as an office administrative assistant. Her first call was to Katrina Wagner, community relations specialist for Community Involvement.
“Katrina automatically came to mind because she works with a lot of different people and helps with different needs in the community. I thought if anyone would know what we could do, it would be her,” Kim said.
Within weeks, Katrina coordinated with Vitalant and Gift of Life to organize two cheek swabbing sessions for potential bone marrow donors at Sandia’s upcoming blood drives.
“I understand the helpless feeling firsthand when someone you love gets a cancer diagnosis,” Katrina said. “The people at Sandia are very generous and I wanted to tap into the community to see if we could find a match to help Kim and Bobby. If we don’t find a match for Bobby, maybe we’ll find a match for someone else.”
How you can help
One blood drive and swabbing event was held on Dec. 3, where Sandians stepped up to see if they could be a match. The next event will be on Dec. 17.
The bone marrow test involves swabbing the inside of your cheek to obtain a tissue sample. The sample is then analyzed to determine the human leukocyte antigen, or HLA type, and is added to the national registry. Registrants will be contacted if their HLA type is a close match to someone in need of healthy bone marrow.
Gift of Life focuses on marrow donors between the ages of 18 and 40 because those donors provide the greatest chance for transplant success. Therefore, those over the age of 40 can’t join the registry. However, those already in the registry remain in the program until the age of 61.
“It’s such an easy procedure and takes no time at all. There are many wonderful things that can come from it. It really hits home when it affects your loved ones and we need people to try,” Kim said.
Kim hopes that someone at Sandia is a match for someone out there, even if it isn’t her husband.
“I am learning more and more how important it is to give to others. This is truly the best gift that you could possibly give another human being. No amount of material things can come close to saving a life with a donation.”