“Lifesaver” to Donate Stem Cells a Second Time

ChelseaAdult Stem Cell Research2 Comments

Now here’s a wonderful, feel-good story to start off your weekend with!:

Terry Bowe is a lifesaver.

In 2005, he donated his blood stem cells to a critically ill patient whose name he didn’t know and whose city and even country of residence remained a guarded secret.

All he was told by officials with the National Marrow Donor Program was the recipient was a 36-year-old woman with leukemia who was fighting for her life.

In 2006, after both donor and recipient agreed to meet, Bowe came face to face with Kimberly Richards, a wife and mother from Glendale, Ariz.

“He actually saved my life,” Richards said after that first meeting.

Nearly four years after receiving Bowe’s life-saving gift, Richards remains a survivor.

“Terry considered it a privilege to be given the opportunity to save someone else’s life,” Richards said Wednesday from her home in Arizona. “Where would I be if he hadn’t?”

Now at age 54, Bowe has the rare chance to do it again. The Bakersfield husband and father has been matched with a 59-year-old man suffering from leukemia.

“I’m amazed that I get to do this again,” said the Chevron employee. “After my first experience, I swore I would do it again in a heartbeat. And I am. No hesitation.

“The minor discomfort I experienced paled in comparison to the reward of helping somebody,” he added.

2 Comments on ““Lifesaver” to Donate Stem Cells a Second Time”

  1. Years ago after donating blood I registered to be a bone marrow donor. Twice I received letters saying I was a match for a patient in need of a marrow transplant. Twice I agreed to the procedure. Twice I received follow-up letters saying that a better match had been found. It’s good to know that there are so many people willing to help a stranger in need.

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