Man, 31, donates stem cells twice to help two different people

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Man, 31, donates stem cells twice to help two different people
Author: Storm Newton
Published: Dec, 27 2024 00:01

A man in his 30s has given his stem cells twice in the space of a decade to help save the lives of two people, becoming one of just 0.7% of donors to do so. Brad Green, from Sheffield, was inspired to sign the Anthony Nolan register at the age of 20 after a school friend’s dad was diagnosed with leukaemia.

Image Credit: The Standard

Just weeks later he received a call telling him he was a match for someone on the transplant list. Mr Green, now 31, told the PA news agency: “I was at college about two weeks after joining and the phone rang – I understood it was rare, but certainly didn’t expect a call within two weeks.”.

Now a father-of-one, Mr Green delayed his 21st birthday celebrations to make the donation. He added: “I just remember thinking, ‘God, how easy was that?’. “Obviously at that time, because it’s anonymous and because you don’t really see the impact it’s having first hand, you’re sitting there thinking, ‘well, I’ve done my bit, now I can go home’.

“But actually at that point, it’s that patient’s start of his journey to recovery.”. Paul Hague, the father of Mr Green’s friend, died from his disease at the age of 49. But after exchanging anonymous letters with the patient who received his stem cells – a man called John Herries – Mr Green went on to meet him and his family and kept in touch by email.

Earlier this year, he received another call from Anthony Nolan telling him he was a match for second person. Mr Green told PA: “A few years passed by – I’m talking a few years, it’s got to be nearly a decade – and I’m at work, I get a phone call again, and when they said that you need to donate again, I assumed it was for the same person.

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