A teenager who was surprised by his anonymous stem cell donor as he rang the bell to signal the end of his cancer treatment says she has “given me another chance to live”.
George Shaw, 15, was at Sheffield Children’s Hospital to mark the start of his remission when he was shocked to meet Kimmy Strelley for the first time, when she arrived to help celebrate the landmark moment.
Hairdresser Ms Strelley, 38, underwent a procedure to anonymously donate her stem cells to George via bone marrow in December 2021, after she was found to be one of only a small number of perfect matches worldwide.
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is the most common leukaemia in children but George, from Nottingham, had a very rare form which made it highly aggressive and resistant to standard chemotherapy, Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust said on Friday.
This meant a stem cell transplant at Sheffield Children’s Hospital was his only treatment option, the trust said.
Ms Strelley was eventually found with the help of stem cell charity Anthony Nolan, after George’s twin brother was found not to be a match.
Donors and recipients must remain anonymous during the treatment process but they can write to one another, which Ms Strelley and George did before meeting for the first time at the bell ceremony, the trust said.
The two will now have a lifelong bond because, although George’s hair, skin and saliva will always be made of his DNA, his blood will now always show as Ms Strelley’s DNA.
George said: “You’re awake when you have the transplant, and I can remember a strong smell of sweetcorn.
“It’s been a complicated and tricky time but the doctors and nurses have all been amazing and throughout the experience I’ve always had the mindset of just cracking on so I could get back to being myself.
“Life is so much better now, and it’s been brilliant to meet Kimmy today.
“She’s given me another chance to live and meant that moments like today can happen.”
Ms Strelley said: “I was so excited to be given the chance to donate but I also felt a lot of responsibility because I really cared about helping the person I was donating to.
“I didn’t know it was George then, but I really hoped it had worked and that he was OK.
“I always say that I’m only one piece in the puzzle of George’s recovery and having the chance to donate to help him has been the best experience.
“Being here three years later, I just feel so proud of George.
“I think everyone should sign up to the register.”
George – who is named after the IVF consultant who helped his parents conceive after 20 years of trying – lives in Nottingham with his mother Christine, father Steven and twin brother Stephen, as well as their five dogs.
He said he is now looking forward to playing lots of football.
Kimmy, who lives in Flitton, Bedfordshire, was accompanied to the bell-ringing ceremony by her young son Jake.
She said she was doing body building at the time she donated and said that she was fully recovered and back in the gym within a few weeks of the procedure.
Before his transplant, George had to have CAR-T cell therapy at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.
This highly specialist treatment involves removing T cells from the body and altering them in a lab so that they can attack cancer cells when they are returned to the body, the trust said.
This meant that George’s body was in the best place possible for the transplant procedure.
Dr Katharine Patrick, consultant paediatric haematologist at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, said: “Caring for patients like George is a huge privilege.
“George has always been an absolute delight and embraced everything that’s come his way.
“He’s had such a positive mindset towards his recovery and couldn’t wait to get back to his active lifestyle.
“I’m so pleased to see that he’s playing football again and able to do the things he loves, including abseiling off a railway bridge to raise an amazing £1,600 for the Children’s Hospital Charity.”
Dr Patrick said: “Whenever bone marrow arrives at Sheffield Children’s from an unknown donor it’s amazing to think that a caring stranger has donated it the day before.
“There really are very few opportunities in life to save another person’s life but that is exactly what Kimmy has done for George.”
Stem cell transplantation quality manager at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, Eleanor Leaney, said: “It’s thanks to donors like Kimmy that Anthony Nolan can continue to facilitate lifesaving stem cell transplants and give patients with blood cancers and blood disorders a second chance at life, continuing the pioneering work started by Shirley Nolan 50 years ago this year.
“I hope seeing the photos of George and Kimmy ringing the bell today will encourage lots of people to sign up to the Anthony Nolan stem cell register so that more patients like George can survive and thrive.”
More details about the Anthony Nolan stem cell register can be found at www.anthonynolan.org.
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