Blood bank's work at risk

Matthew Furtick, who drives a van for the Carolinas Cord Blood Bank at Duke, had just dropped off a patient and was going down Hillandale Road in Durham when a car evading police barreled onto the road from the expressway.

The next thing Furtick knew, the van had landed upside down on the hood of another vehicle, which in turn slammed into a police car. In all, five vehicles were hit by the runaway car.

Remarkably, no one was killed in the mid-January crash.

But Furtick was injured. And the van was destroyed. Both were tremendous blows to the state's only nonprofit blood bank, which collects umbilical cord blood for stem cell transplants for children with dire illnesses.

The van was more than a decade old, donated by the grateful parents of one of the bank's successful transplant patients. It was road-weary from intensive city driving.

"We had it in the shop just about every month, and the repairs were getting more and more expensive," Furtick said.

Still, that van and its driver are key cogs in the blood bank's day-to-day operation.

"I honestly don't know what we'd do without them," said Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg, director of the bank and an internationally known specialist who has performed a quarter of all umbilical cord-blood transplants worldwide.

More than a courier

You see, Furtick's official title is "courier," but he does so much more than drive paper to and fro. He carries critically ill children and family members from the Ronald McDonald House or nearby apartments and motels to Duke University Medical Center for treatment. The van is equipped with a lift to accommodate patients in wheelchairs.

"Matthew is a quiet, humble man who just goes above and beyond for the patients," said June Allison, nurse coordinator for the blood bank.

Furtick has the solemn duty of transporting umbilical cord blood and other products as needed. He also ferries staff to and from its three key locations - the center's administrative offices, the lab and the hospital.

And yes, every week he transfers dozens of patients' files, each 5 inches thick. He uses the lift to move those in and out of the van as well.

For now, the bank is relying on a fill-in driver - until Furtick completes physical therapy - and a rental van.

There's no way the insurance on the van will pay for a replacement, Allison said.

Hoping for a miracle

And Kurtzberg doubts the hospital will include money for a new van in the bank's budget.

"Times are so tight," she said.

But the staff for the Carolinas Cord Blood Bank hopes that perhaps the accident will bring attention to the remarkable transplants it helps. Perhaps more new mothers will look into donating their umbilical cord blood. And who knows? Perhaps some benefactor will come through with a little miracle - a way for the bank to continue transporting pediatric transplant patients in need of a miracle themselves.

For more information about the Carolinas Cord Blood Bank at Duke, or to contact its directors, visit cancer.duke.edu/ccbb/.