Dr. Daniel Weisdorf, director of the university's blood and marrow transplant center, explained how the donation works. Weisdorf told Huddleston that the doctors would make a tiny nick in his skin, then insert a needle in the pelvis bone and collect the marrow from both sides. Huddleston was told that he would sleep through the procedure and likely have no memory of the ordeal. The marrow extraction went off successfully. Physicians pulled about a quart and a half of marrow from Huddleston's lower back.
Most people have about four quarts of marrow in their bodies.
The procedure takes about 90 minutes, with physicians sucking the marrow out a tablespoon at a time. Huddleston woke up groggy in the recovery room, but compared his discomfort to the back pain of shoveling heavy snow. Huddleston still is waiting to see if the donated marrow will work for the teen. There is only a 40 to 50 percent chance it will. Rossbach said he hopes to meet his donor someday, too.