Painlessly Saving Lives

Innovatively Speaking

At any given time about 7,500 Americans are actively searching for bone marrow donors but only 2% of the population is a registered donor, possibly due to fear of the pain and side effects. This week, Kevin and Jesse are joined Nicole McCoy, M.D., whose innovative technique is eliminating pain in bone marrow transplants.

A Pediatric Anesthesiologist at MUSC, Dr. McCoy’s regional anesthesia technique called a quadratus lumborum block (QL block) has radically improved pain control in donors, to the point where they are receiving almost zero pain medicine or opioids in the recovery room. Bone marrow donors can gift stem cells without worry of undue side effects or opioid use. If you’ve ever been on the fence about donating for this life saving procedure, this episode is for you!

00:00 The Start

01:47 Dr. McCoy joins the show.

05:18 Dr. McCoy’s interest in getting involved in bone marrow transplants

07:19 Explaining the QL Block

10:27 Reducing pain medication to almost zero

18:45 How to see if a patient is in pain while under anesthesia

21:06 How to sign up for the donor registry and how much it saves lives

26:45 Are there any risks or complications to the block

30:24 Where do we go from here

Learn more about innovation at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) by visiting: https://web.musc.edu/innovation

Interested donors can sign up here: https://bit.ly/3SxCYz5

Read about Dr. McCoy's QL block here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/959133

This show is a production of the MUSC Office of Innovation and the Office of Communications and Marketing.