Woman Who Beat Leukemia Meets The Donor Who Helped Save Her Life

Dorothy “Dot” Ward works as a nurse at the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center.

Not only is she a phlebotomist, but she is also a bone marrow donor! She became a donor when she first started working as a phlebotomist at the center 22 years ago, and waited to become someone’s match for six years.

In 2004, she finally got the call that she was a perfect match for someone.

The recipient was 19-year-old Jemma Wilson, who is now 36 years old. She was diagnosed with Leukemia when she was just 14 years old, and was in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant.

There were no matches nearby in the UK, so Jemma started panicking and was afraid she would never find a donor. She was so relieved when she found out she had a perfect match, 5,000 miles away.

Dot was thrilled to save a life and even made her donation on her mother’s birthday, so it seemed like fate.

The two finally met in 2018 when Dot received a text message asking her to join Jemma on Skype. They were so happy to finally meet each other and have stayed in touch ever since.

While it seems almost impossible for Jemma to repay Dot for saving her life, she knew there was one thing she wanted that would be very special for Dot.

After Jemma got engaged, she invited Dot to her wedding.

After two years of COVID-19 delays, the two of them finally met in person, which was overwhelming and extremely emotional.

Then on March 5, 2022, Dot watched Jemma walk down the aisle and marry her husband.

“We have the saying where she says, ‘I am you.’ And I was like, ‘and you are me,’” Dot said. “We got along just like sisters. Matter of fact, we are sisters.”

The two of them share a very special bond, and that will never change.

Hear the inspiring story in the video below:

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