Thank you for saving my life, Joe!
... those were the heartfelt words of Dylan, 7, as he met the stranger whose stem cells cured him of rare disease
GEORGE’S Marvellous Medicine by Roald Dahl is unarguably a good book to give to any seven-year-old who loves to read. But Joe Partridge, 32, felt the story – about a child who creates a potion with fantastical powers to transform anyone who consumes it – made an especially appropriate gift for little Dylan Bennett.
For father-of-two Joe, from Manchester, helped to create a very real ‘marvellous medicine’ that undoubtedly saved the young lad’s life: stem cells taken from his blood were transfused into Dylan to cure a rare immune disorder.
Even more remarkably, at the time the two were complete strangers.
Last weekend, surrounded by their families, Dylan and Joe, an engineer, met for the first time, and The Mail on Sunday was invited to witness the moment. The occasion was also captured on film by blood cancer charity the Anthony Nolan Trust, and the emotional video goes live on social media today.
Dylan, who is now fit and well, is delighted with his book. ‘I’m actually really good at reading,’ he says.
His mother, Kathryn, 31, explains that she and her husband, Phil, 39, used to read to their son during his long stints at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.
Dylan, who was two when he received the transplant, also had a gift for his donor – a toy lion wearing a T-shirt with the words My Hero Joe. Thanks For Saving Me.
Joe says he feels privileged to have been able to help. ‘All I did was go to hospital for a day. I don’t feel as if I deserve any glory. I’m just a collection of cells that by a genetic fluke could help someone else.’
A stem-cell transplant, which used to be known as a bone-marrow transplant, is a similar process to a blood transfusion. Stem cells, which generate new cells of every type, are extracted from a donor’s blood, then transplanted into the recipient via an intravenous drip.
Prior to this, chemotherapy drugs are given to kill off the patient’s own bone marrow, which creates blood and immune cells. The donated stem cells find their way into the bones, where they multiply and form new healthy bone marrow. The treatment is highly successful in curing types of cancer, most commonly leukaemia.
It is also used to treat hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a rare disease in which the body produces too many of certain types of infection-fighting white blood cells, which then attack vital organs.
Dylan developed this disease shortly after his second birthday, in May 2011. ‘The first thing we noticed was that his stomach was really swollen and he had no energy,’ recalls Kathryn.
Within weeks, Dylan became critically ill. Rushed to hospital, he suffered multiple organ failure and was put into a medically induced coma. He then had a reaction to his medication and suffered a stroke.
In November that year, he was transferred to Great Ormond Street Hospital, where doctors diagnosed his illness.
THEY said Dylan’s only hope was a stem-cell transplant from a donor. His brother Eric, then six, was eager to be his donor, but tests showed his tissue was not compatible. Donors must be closely matched to limit the risk of a patient rejecting their cells. After a few weeks, a perfect match was found. The procedure was a success, and Dylan has now been in remission for four years. At five years he’ll be considered ‘cured’.
Joe had signed up to the stem-cell register while at university in 2004, after seeing a campaign poster.
Registering involves giving a saliva sample, which can be used to determine blood type and genetic profile. Once logged, if a patient with blood cancer or a blood disorder needs a stem-cell transplant, the Anthony Nolan Trust searches the register for a donor. It then contacts that person and asks if they are willing to donate. Donors and patients are not allowed to know each other’s identities until both parties have signed consent forms, and Joe knew nothing about the recipient of his cells until Kathryn sent him an anonymous letter two years ago thanking him.
Joe, who was put in direct contact with Kathryn earlier this year, adds: ‘I felt relieved to know my cells had worked and I’d helped a little lad, especially as a dad myself.
‘I don’t understand why everyone isn’t on the register. Donating takes a minimal amount of effort – nothing compared to what someone who needs a transplant is going through.’