Posts Tagged ‘Stem Cells For Leukemia’

Stem Cells – A Lifesaving Gift Provided By A Complete Stranger

Thursday, October 16th, 2014

Duke Saeman

Source:   www.9news.com

DENVER – For six years now, Duke Saeman has waited to meet the man who saved his life. On Tuesday, October 14th, 2014, his wait was over when the 29-year-old German man arrived at Denver International Airport.

Saeman was diagnosed with leukemia in 2008. The prognosis was grim. Doctors only gave him about two months to live.

“I was lethargic,” he said. “It was tough to get up the energy to do things I wanted to do, and it progressively got worse.”

They said he needed a stem cell transplant, but finding the perfect donor would be tough.

There were only two “10 for 10” matches, both from overseas. Saeman’s match came from Germany.

Doctors typically expect patients will take 30 to 45 days to recover from that kind of transplant. Duke was released after five days and has been healthy and leukemia-free ever since.

Saeman set out on a mission to find the donor.  After two years he found his donor.

Saeman then went to work, planning a trip for 29-year-old Marco and his girlfriend to come to Denver and meet his family.   This week Saeman’s dream came true.

“I’m extremely excited to meet this young man and I’m going to treat him like a king while he’s here,” he said.

Saeman paid all of Marco’s expenses for the 10-day trip, which will include a trip to Las Vegas, somewhere Marco wanted to see.

9NEWS was there when Marco and Duke met at the airport. Duke wanted to share his story to inspire others to sign up for the donor registry.

For more information on how you can become a donor click here.

(KUSA-TV © 2014 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)

Daniel Paid It Forward with Stem Cells

Sunday, January 19th, 2014
Daniel Lilburne (Left) with brother Ryan (Right)

Daniel Lilburne (Left) with brother Ryan (Right)

In a remarkable domino effect, Daniel Lilburne has repaid a debt to France for stem cells that saved the life of his younger brother Ryan more than five years ago.

The 23-year-old has donated his stem cells so a young French woman could have a bone marrow transplant – the same operation Ryan had in 2008 using stem cells from the umbilical cord of a newborn in France.

Ryan was 15 and battling a serious blood disorder and leukaemia when Perth doctors started scouring an international bone marrow registry for a suitable tissue match to provide stem cells for a transplant.

They initially screened the most likely potential donors – his parents Natalie and Bruce and 17-year-old Daniel – but none matched.

When they failed to find a donor after a worldwide search, doctors decided to go ahead with the second-best option, using stem cells from the umbilical cord of a baby boy in France.

After massive chemotherapy to kill off his diseased bone marrow, Ryan was given the cord blood stem cells and has since made a full recovery, with more than 100 family and friends planning to celebrate his clean bill of health at his 21st birthday party tonight.

But last January, more than four years after Ryan’s transplant, Mrs Lilburne was contacted by the registry with news that stunned her.

Daniel had been identified as the best match in the world for a young woman who needed a bone marrow transplant – and she happened to live in France.

“They told me I wouldn’t believe – that Daniel was the best match for this girl – and at first I just kept saying ‘you’re joking’ because I couldn’t believe the chances of that happening,” Mrs Lilburne said.

“If Ryan hadn’t been sick, Daniel would never have been on the registry, so I like to think we’ve helped pay back the generosity of the French family who donated their baby’s cord blood.”

In August, Daniel donated the stem cells, which required twice-daily injections for four days before and left him with aching bones.

“When I heard about the injections I thought ‘hang on, what have I got myself in for’ but it wasn’t painful and really being able to help a girl in France was pretty awesome,” he said.

Just before Christmas, the Lilburnes’ learnt the 26-year-old woman was out of hospital and doing well.

People aged 18 to 45 in good health can join the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry. Details are at abmdr.org.au or contact the Australian Red Cross Blood Service on 13 14 95 Australia.

Source:   The West Australia