Stephanie Hollman Talks Benefits of Donating Bone Marrow

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In May, Real Housewives of Dallas star Stephanie Hollman revealed on Instagram that she was donating bone marrow to help someone in need. Now, she's talking about what really went into that process on The Morning Breath and urging others to donate, too.

Hollman says that she first registered be a donor about five years ago and was told at the time that there was less than a 1 percent chance that she would be chosen. However, she later received a call saying she was a “10-out-of-10 match” with a total stranger. About three weeks later, she was in the hospital donating stem cells.

Bone marrow donations can be used in the treatment of life-threatening conditions, such as leukemia, myeloma, and lymphoma. But it's not actually the marrow that doctors are after—it's the stem cells that mature within the marrow before being released into the bloodstream, the Mayo Clinic explains. And these aren't the same as embryonic stem cells, which are found in fertilized egg.

Donating is "actually really easy,” Hollman said. “It’s done like giving blood.” She explained that she was hooked up to a machine that took out her blood, removed the stem cells, and put it back in, and that was it. She says she was a little tired afterward but added that “your body replenishes everything in 30 days…you can literally save somebody’s life.” And, Hollman says, she would do it again.

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