December 30, 2014

Donor meets recipient…

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There are many similar videos of donor meeting recipient, but this one is a particular favourite of mine. To watch it, please click on the photo.

It’s one of the reasons why I refer to tissue typing as being a bit of a dark art – the outcome is not what you’d expect !

Well worth a watch.

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The donor / recipient process is anonymous, certainly for the first two years post transplant. We were permitted to write to Margot’s donor and did so in April 2014, the day before Margot left Hospital to come home, after 8 weeks in isolation.

One day, we hope to meet him.

Our letter to Margot’s anonymous donor

To the gentleman that selflessly and benevolently donated his bone marrow to someone else in their time of need…

imageYou were there for a little girl who was quite suddenly taken ill and found herself in desperate need of a stem cell donor match, in order to stand the best chances of beating her blood cancer.

You are our hero.

We feel this way in spite of knowing very little about you. However, that you thought to take the time to register as a potential stem cell donor and made good on your commitment when our call came, speaks volumes for who you are as a human being.

Today, tests show that our little girl has 100% of your stem cells in her bone marrow, which means the bone marrow transplant was successful.

We are told that she is now ‘disease free’ and are looking forward to her coming home soon, making a full recovery and living a healthy and complication free life hereafter.

You have given her a second chance at life; we are all unspeakably grateful to you for this miraculous gift and one day, we very much hope to meet you.

Yours in admiration, from the fortunate and humbled parents, brothers, cousins, uncles and aunts, grandparents, great grandparents and friends:

Thank you.

9 April 2014

Husband to Vicki and father to Oscar (2007), Rufus (2008), Digby (2015), Humphrey (2017) & Margot (2012-2014)

Posted in: Journal