When I Was Four, My Mother Left Me Alone in a Church—Twenty Years Later She Returned Crying, “We Need You”

Your medical suitability and your decision need to be protected.”

I breathed for what felt like the first time all week.

I had imagined being taken straight into a room and having a needle drilled into my bone to see whether I matched.

That is not how initial donor matching worked.

They started with blood.

High-resolution HLA typing.

Routine tests.

Medical history.

Questions about medications.