[Jill2008]

My donor was a 48 year-old male from Germany. Unfortunately, I came down with a respiratory illness the day I was to be admitted and the stem cells had to be frozen because my donor wasn't able to go through the process again at that time. I was 100% donor following transplant though. I relapsed eight months later for whatever reason they do not know. I was able to contact my donor two years following transplant and we still keep in touch via e-mail. I thanked him for giving me another chance at life and told him how much it meant to me. He said if I was able to have another transplant, he would donate again. The guidelines have changed though and the maximum age for donors is 40. Many donors are European. From what I understand it is a very big deal over there. Best wishes!