A young woman from Prince Albert, Canada, has saved the life of a U.S. man through a donation of stem cells. 26-year-old Blaire Broda was the stem cell donor who gave the cells to an anonymous recipient.
With most stem cell registries, when a donation of stem cells occurs, the relationship between the donor and recipient is anonymous. However, after a year has passed both people have option to pass their contact details onto the other person.
Blaire was interested in seeing how the recipient of her stem cells faired and this July received an email from the him. A young man from Connecticut named Josh received the stem cells and was now doing very well.
Blaire had registered with stem cell and marrow network OneMatch. They are one of the registries which doctors use to find suitable stem cell matches for their patients.
Part of the reason Blaire registered was that one of her friends had succumbed to leukaemia. Their friend was the recipient of a stem cell transplant, but unfortunately died from the disease.
She explained her motivation: “He was an amazing person and I wanted to donate my stem cells for him in his honour,”
After the registry received the request for Blaire’s stem cells, she was informed and made the trip to a hospital for more thorough testing. Stem cell donors must match 10 criteria before the transplant is undertaken.
A few weeks after the tests, doctors confirmed that her stem cells were a match for the recipient. She went to Calgary the following week to have the procedure. It was virtually pain-free but did take a few hours.
Blaire traded a few emails with her stem cell recipient and discovered they had much in common! Both were 26, their birthdays were close together and they were both engaged to be married. She also received letters of thanks from Josh’s family. Her act of kindness has given this young man a chance to lead a healthy and happy life.
Source: Saving a life with donation of stem cells
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