Emilia meets her lifesaver Jan

Eight-year-old Emilia, from the West Midlands meets Jan, the German man who saved her life with a stem cell transplant

Emilia from the West Midlands was just five years old when she was diagnosed with aplastic anaemia, a rare and life-threatening blood disorder.

The illness first presented as what appeared to be a bug and a rash, causing fatigue and unexplained bruises all over her body. Doctors initially thought it might be a virus, however, the situation progressed quickly after blood tests revealed that Emilia’s platelets were low and her blood was not clotting properly. Her parents, James and Stephanie, were urged to go to Worcestershire Hospital where they were told that Emilia’s only chance of a cure was a stem cell transplant.

Finding her perfect match

Emilia’s family, including her older sister Ellie, were all tested to see if they could donate their stem cells to her but, unfortunately, none of them were a close enough match. Hope eventually came for them at the end of that July, when two full matches were found in Germany. One of those matches was 33 year old Jan, an electrical technician, who had signed up to become a stem cell donor with DKMS while at school a decade earlier.

Jan received a letter informing him that he was a match for a girl in England who needed a stem cell transplant and said he felt honoured to be “the chosen one” one to do it. Emilia received her stem cell transplant from him in September 2023, and by late March 2024, she was able to start returning to normal life.

"I was glad to be back at school with all my friends and glad to be dancing all around the house again”, Emilia shared, delighted to be back socialising and spending time doing the things she loves, like dancing and drumming. Fate would have it that Jan loves music and performing as well, being the singer for a heavy metal band back home in Germany!

An emotional first meeting

Three years later, Emilia and her parents finally got the chance to meet her hero, in an emotional encounter organised by DKMS. Emilia shared that she felt really excited to finally meet him. “It means so much to me because if it wasn't for him giving me just a tiny bit of stem cells, I wouldn't be here right now." Her parents echoed that feeling and emphasised the impact he’s had on their lives:

"You don't know how much that means to us."

Emilia meets Jan

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Jan, who had no idea who he was donating to at the time, also shared his excitement to meet Emilia. "I'm just happy that I could help… because I think the most important part is to save lives." He feels it’s important for him to share his stem cell donation story, saying he “cannot imagine what kind of pain she has been through – or her parents”.

For him, stem cell donation is just “a little piece of pain” compared to what Emilia and her family have been through, “but for them, it means the whole world."