Met my donor last week
I’m M in my late 40’s and got my SCT 2.5 years ago in 🇺🇸. My donor wrote to me first and we have been exchanging messages through a 3rd party as we weren’t allowed to talk directly until 2 years after transplant. At the 2 year mark, we exchanged numbers and found out he was German. Jumped on the first ✈️ available and met him for lunch in his town. It felt so weird that someone I’ve never met before was responsible for me being alive. When we initially met, we shook hands and I asked him if I could hug him and he said of course. It was easiest the most emotional hug I’ve ever experienced. We had lunch, we shared stories, we bonded. Which brings me to a very important question… he told me that in Germany, hospitals promote getting tested to become a donor everywhere. Why can’t we do the same in 🇺🇸? Example i used to donate blood before I got sick, but not once they told me there was an option to do a swab test to potentially become a SCT donor. 🤔