Stem Cell Transplant Patient Stories
Read about the stem cell transplant experiences of some of our patients and learn why becoming a stem cell donor can save a life.
From a registry of seven million donors, Annette was a perfect match for Bob. And three years after the transplant that cured Bob's advanced myelodysplasic syndrome, he met the woman whose stem cells saved his life.
Margie Needelman, one of Dana-Farber's early autologous bone marrow transplant patients, was back at the Institute to celebrate the 20th anniversary of her transplant.
Cancer survivor Bill Hallahan knew almost nothing about the person who had saved his life. He hadn't even learned his bone marrow donor's name until one year after the transplant. But when he entered a Boston-area hotel last month for a celebration of marrow and stem cell donors, he spotted a 30-something man waiting in the lobby with his wife, and immediately sensed this was him.
After donating stem cells to cure her brother's leukemia and supporting her sister through breast cancer, this woman learns she has non-Hodgkins lymphoma and faces a stem cell transplant of her own.
A stem cell donor and the recipient of her cells take turns telling their intertwined story – and explain how it felt when they met for the first time one year later.
Dana-Farber transplant physician Robert Soiffer, MD, explains why making a stem cell donation is not just a generous gift – it's a life-changing, heroic act.