A mother from Salford has spoken out about meeting the selfless bone marrow donor who saved her young daughter’s life.
Joanne Cairns, a beautician from Acresfield Road, says it is impossible to find a way to adequately thank Carol Ward, from York, who donated bone marrow to 14-year-old Charnay Cairns.
'I didn't know what I could say to thank her'
Joanne, 48, said: “I cried when I first met Carol – I didn’t know what I could say to thank her for saving my daughter’s life.
“It was very emotional – people are never normally in a position where they meet someone who has helped them so much and so selflessly.”
Charnay was just two-and-a-half when her mother noticed that her body was covered in small bruises.
She took her to an emergency GP who sent her straight to hospital for blood tests.
These tests revealed that Charnay had leukaemia and the toddler was put on a gruelling course of chemotherapy which lasted two years.
Joanne said: “I was heartbroken when Charnay was diagnosed – I couldn’t believe it. It was an extremely difficult time. It is not something you ever want to see your child go through.”
Despite the intensive chemotherapy, Charnay’s leukaemia returned and her parents were told a bone marrow transplant was her only chance of survival.
Unfortunately, none of her relatives were suitable matches so Charnay’s doctors asked the blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan to search its register for a possible donor.
Charnay's journey
The charity found Carol Ward, 49, from York, who was a match for Charnay and was willing to donate.
So, Charnay’s transplant went ahead in April 2006.
But, she was not out of the woods yet and she developed pneumonia which left her on a life support machine.
However, after months of recovery it was revealed that the transplant was a success and Charnay, who attends St Ambrose Barlow RC High School, has now made a full recovery.
Joanne said: “It is fantastic to see that people actually go out of their way to help strangers in the way that Carol did.
“Without her, my daughter would not be here today.”
'Delighted to be a match'
Carol, who runs a working men’s club with her husband David, explained that she joined the bone marrow register after someone in her local area developed leukaemia and that she was delighted when she received a call to say she was a match for someone.
The mother-of-two says that at the time all she knew was that she was donating to a young child.
Earlier this year, Carol and Charnay met for the first time.
Carol said: “I was so happy to meet Charnay and to see how well she looks.
“Her family showed me photographs from when she was ill and it was clear that she has been through a huge amount.
“I am just glad that I was able to help.”
The Kindness of Strangers
On Saturday, August 9 the pair met for a second time. On this occasion, they travelled to London for a photo shoot with The Sun to promote an Anthony Nolan campaign called ‘Kindness of Strangers’, about the altruistic act of donating stem cells.
Emma and Emily from our press team with the article
They appeared in the paper on Tuesday sharing their story and showing their support for Anthony Nolan.
They are now urging people between the ages of 16 and 30 to sign up to the charity’s bone marrow register and save more lives.
