Stem Cell Transplant Nurse and NP Make Lifesaving Bone Marrow Donation

When Emily Coiro, MSN, AGACNP, BMTCN, and Julie Zgola, BSN, RN, each received a call from a transplant-donor match system, there was no hesitation when asked if still interested in donating to patients in need of transplant. The answer was “yes.”

In an interview with Oncology Nursing News, Zgola and Coiro agreed that being part of both inpatient and outpatient care teams for patients receiving stem cell transplant informed their decisions to join the donor list.

Zgola, an assistant nurse manager at John Theurer Cancer Center at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, said that she was looking for more ways to help her patients in stem cell transplantation when she joined the list.

Coiro, an advanced practice nurse practitioner at the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Program, echoed this sentiment, explaining that once she started working on the transplantation floor, she found out how easy it is to join and signed herself and her husband up.

According to Zgola, the experience has helped her relate more to her patients and better understand how certain experiences feel.

“I needed a central line…and all of my patients get central lines. When we do them at the bedside, I say, “It’s going to be fine. It doesn’t hurt.’ It definitely opened my eyes,” remarked Zgola.

She recalls preparing patients in the past to receive tbo-filgrastim (Granix) by telling them they would only experience a small pinch.

“Then I gave it to myself, and was like, ‘Oh, no, I’ve been lying to these people!” she chuckled.

Coiro and Zgola find that patients experience a range of emotions when receiving a diagnosis that requires stem cell transplantation. Now, on the other side of the transplantation process, both clinicians can with more confidence tell patients that there’s hope for finding a donor.

“We’re clearly on two different sides: they are the patient, I am the health care provider,” said Coiro. “To have something that we can connect on even more has been a blessing.”

Transcript

Zgola: The John Theurer Cancer Center came over to Jersey Shore in 2022, and after my first transplant, I said, “How can I help these people more?” So I signed up for the registry. In 2024, I got the phone call, and it was all gears from there.

Coiro: I started working at Hackensack on their inpatient stem cell transplant floor, and later that year, I signed up for the registry myself, having just started on the floor and knowing about it. Prior to that, I was a nurse, but I didn’t work in oncology. I didn’t know the process of signing up for the registry and how easy it was just to order a kit and swab your cheek. I did it for myself and my husband and got the call last year.

Zgola: I was at work, and I got a phone call. They left a voicemail saying that I was chosen to be a match if I was still interested. At work, all of us said, “What?” And we listened to it 3 times because it was unbelievable. I called them back right away, and the coordinator said, “Are you still interested?” I said, “Absolutely.” Who wouldn’t be interested? You sign up with the intention to do this. We’re doing this.

Coiro: I was at home that day and got the phone call in the afternoon. When I got the call, I was I wasn’t thinking, “Be The Match is calling me to tell me that I’m a match.” I’m thinking, “I wonder if they know I work in transplant, and maybe they’re doing a survey or a study.” She started with, “Hi, my name is Wendy, and I’m calling to let you know that you have been determined to be a match for someone to have a transplant. I’m wondering if you were still interested.” I immediately said yes. The next questions were, “When did you join the registry? What made you join the registry?” And I said, “Well, I’m actually a nurse at Hackensack, and I work on the transplant floor, so that’s why I’m on the registry.” And she said, “Oh, that’s one of our transplant centers.” I said, “I know, I work there!”

This transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.