Stem cell donors typically remain anonymous so they don’t often get to see just how much their contribution impacted the life of the recipient.
But in this case, a 71-year-old recipient made an emotional journey over 2,300 miles just to thank the donor who saved his life.
Siegfried ‘Siggi’ Wahl, 71, managed to meet Jackie Wray, 50, and his genetic ‘twin’ whose stem cell donation proved crucial in saving his life.
Watch the heartwarming moment below.
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Video credit: Rumble
Siggi, from Hattersheim in Germany, was found to have chronic myeloid leukemia in April 2015 following a stroke. Doctors only discovered the cancer when Siggi was hospitalized.
Initial treatments did not work so doctors told him his best shot was to get a blood stem cell donation with someone with an identical tissue type as his.
While no one in his immediate family was a match, he hit jackpot six months later when Jackie signed up for blood cancer charity DKMS in response to a TV appeal for a child urgently seeking a donor.
The perfect moment when Siggi met his ‘angel’ Jackie is captured in this moving video. The pair met at the restaurant and bar that Jackie owns in Great Ayton, North Yorkshire in September.
Jackie, the owner of the wedding venue Whinstone View, said: “I signed up to be a stem cell donor four years ago after seeing a BBC News campaign for a two-year-old girl who needed to find a match.
“It was the first time I had ever heard of doing something like that and I thought I could do it, so I googled how to sign up.
“Six months after being on the donor register, doctors had found a match – I knew nothing about him at this stage, just that he was a man in Germany.
“During the process, we both wanted to send cards to each other to check that each of us was alright, and I found out more information about him that way.
“It was a long process so the cards reassured me that Siggi was still alive.”
Jackie said it took around 4 to 5 hours for her to complete the stem cell donation. But the challenges weren’t over for Siggi even with a stem cell donor available.
The first step involved the administration of a dose of chemotherapy strong enough to destroy his existing blood stem cells in order to make way for the new ones.
It was a point of no return for Siggi’s body and if he didn’t get the donated stem cells quickly, he would likely die.
But just as a courier was about to transport Jackie’s blood stem cells from London to Frankfurt, the 2016 terrorist attack in Paris happened and the courier couldn’t leave.
Doctors were worried that Siggi might not get the donated stem cells in time and Siggi’s wife Ursula, 62, could only watch helplessly at his bedside.
Siggi said: “When they found a match, my wife and I were filled with tears of joy and with a great hope that my life may turn around again.
“The terrorist attack in France that delayed the stem cell courier shocked me and my wife, who was sitting next to my hospital bed with many tears in her eyes.
“My doctor treated me and comforted me, and said ‘We will get there’ so that I wouldn’t worry as much and not give up hope.
“The next day, when the doctor came into my room and said that the courier was on his way, and I had tears of joy in my eyes.
“Drop by drop, Jackie’s blood stem cells gave me my life back – I can never have enough thanks.”
Fortunately, Jackie’s stem cells arrived the next day and were successfully transplanted into Siggi. During Siggi’s long road to recovery, Jackie had to donate blood plasma in September 2017.
Because of that extra donation, it would be 3 more years before they could meet. UK law specifies that while donor and recipient can communicate after the transplant, anonymity must be maintained for the first two years at the minimum.
Should both parties be in agreement, their identities may be revealed later on and meet if they wish.
In February 2019, the anonymity period ended and Siggi immediately called Jackie and they agreed to finally meet in the UK.
Along with his wife Ursula, Siggi finally met Jackie and the couple stayed for three nights in the area.
Although Siggi spoke no English, his actions were loud and clear. He gave Jackie a silver necklace that had an angel pendant to signify that she saved his life.
Jackie said: “Before we met, I had no idea what Siggi looked like or how old he was – it was very difficult when we could only write to each other and I burst into tears every time I read his cards.
“All I knew of Siggi was that he had a son and daughter my age, and a grandson – and he used to play ice hockey when he was a young man which was one of the reasons I was so excited to meet him, to hear his life story.
“When he arrived, there were lots of tears and lots of cuddling – Siggi and his wife had made me a photo album with pictures of him during his treatment which just made me cry instantly.
“They also bought me a little angel necklace because they say I’m his angel and it was just so lovely, I will treasure it forever.
“We had such a fun time, it was just lovely and he never stopped holding my hand.”
Siggi added: “After the many cards we exchanged anonymously, I felt that Jackie has a heart.
“She wanted to save people’s lives, and such a person deserves a personal thank you, with a big hug, and of course with a lot of tears.
“Neither of us could let go when we hugged – for me, she is my angel that saved my life.
“To me, the angel necklace meant Jackie is the angel that heaven-sent to me and saved my life – Jackie is, and will always be my angel.”
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