Stem cell donor meets the child whose life he saved
23 March 2022
A former Federation member who donated his stem cells to a young boy has described the overwhelmingly emotional moment he met the recipient whose life he saved.
Brian Carmichael was able to meet 10-year-old Josiah and his parents, Mary and Fred, in February, five years after he made the donation.
Due to Josiah’s family living in America, the meet was done virtually online but Brian says that did not stop him from feeling the love from the little lad and his parents.
“That moment, when I first saw Josiah and his family, I just cried, we all just cried, there were lots of tears. I just couldn’t take my eyes off Josiah,” says 54-year-old Brian, a father and grandfather of two.
“Mary and Fred kept on calling me their angel but to me, I’m just Brian, from Birmingham, I’m just a normal guy, I love a laugh, I like to dance and occasionally I eat too much. I don’t think it’s really sunk in what I’ve done for them.”
Mary, Josiah and Fred.
Brian said that hearing what Josiah and his family had been through confirmed just how important it is for people to join the stem cell register.
“I’m a father, a grandfather, an uncle, a son, so I get it to an extent but I don’t think until this happens directly to you, to someone that you love, that you really know just how much of a difference finding a donor can make,” explained Brian.
“Meeting Josiah meant that I was not only able to put a face to my recipient but find out his background information too. I could see them, I could feel the love, feel such gratitude.
“Speaking to them, it dawned on me that this was a child’s life that we’d been dealing with. When you see a 10-year-old and you know they’re still here because of you, it’s just indescribable.”
Having been diagnosed with a severe blood condition as a baby, Josiah was in and out of hospital since the day he was born.
The one thing that could save his life was a stem cell donation and that donation needed to be a 90 per cent match.
“Mary and Fred said that they went onto the list and within weeks they’d got a match but it’s not as simple as that. Maybe it’s my naivety but I didn’t realise that they then had many hours, weeks and months of praying and sleepless nights, waiting to hear if I would be willing to donate and what’s more, that I was able to,” said Brian, who admits he still gets tingles talking about it now.
Brian was contacted in 2017 and in October that year, he donated his stem cells.
“They just couldn’t believe a near-perfect had been found. They kept telling me that we were brothers, family now,” added Brian, who has regularly been sharing updates with Josiah and his family and hopes to meet up with his recipient in person one day.
“Josiah is just a normal 10-year-old boy now, with no issues at all, it’s brilliant,” added Brian.
“It’s not until you see that person that you realise just how amazing the whole process of donating stem cells is.
“I just can’t wait to meet them in person now. I said to Josiah, all I want from him is to be good to his mum and dad, and live a productive life.”
Brian donating his stem cells.
More than ever, Brian is encouraging anyone who is able, to join the stem cell donor register. He is hoping that by sharing his story with the Federation, members will join the register.
His story follows the recent appeal to find a donor for Izzie, the daughter of West Midlands police officer Sally Olsen.
Izzie (13) was diagnosed with two rare blood disorders and is desperately waiting for a life-saving stem cell match to be found.
There are two different ways a person can donate stem cells, either peripheral stem cell donation or bone marrow donation. Izzie needs to receive stem cell donation, which takes around five hours for the donor and is very similar to somebody giving blood.
Depending on your age, you can register to donate with Anthony Nolan (if you are aged between 16 and 30) or DKMS (if you are over 30 and up until 60, as long as you meet other specific criteria). Both organisations match donors and patients across the world.
