In 2002, I was at the carnival party in the Rotter Halle and my friend Thomas Gansinger asked if we could go to Großkarolinenfeld the following day to a typing campaign. At that time, I didn't know what a typing campaign was, but he said that it was possible to save lives and those words convinced me to go. The next day we went and we were typed.

About 10 years later, I received a letter from the AKB (Aktion Knochenmarkspende Bayern e.V.) that I should register. I did and I was shortlisted for a patient.  I had to go to the family doctor for blood collection. At that time, I was educated about the topic of "stem cell donation" and did some research myself. I was not selected as the donor by the attending physician.  I was truly dissapointed. 

At the beginning of 2018, I received another letter from AKB telling me to contact them.. I did and the woman on the phone knew immediately who I was and told me that they were looking for me through the registry office and that it was urgent.   She explained to me how a transplant works, about side effects, etc. and asked if I was ready for it. I had two conditions: 1. no child molesters and 2. no terrorists. She said in Arab countries and in prisons, they don't do donor matches so I agreed.

I was sent all the forms for my employer and the first date for the preliminary examination. The employer was completely compensated for the lost work so nothing was lost. The first appointment for the preliminary examination was soon to come.

We drove to the AKB in Gauting in the morning where everything was very relaxed. Everyone greeted each other and was totally relaxed, patiently answering all questions. There they took blood, did an ultrasound and x-ray. At noon we were provided with lunch and afterwards there was an explanatory talk. What are stem cells? How are they taken? What is leukemia? etc. Everything was very interesting and was explained to me in a way that I could understand. My wife Elke was also there and was so interested and enthusiastic that she also had herself typed.

It is forbidden to learn anything about the patient, but being me, I wanted to know something. I did learn that the patient was a woman, that the stem cells were flying across the pond on the same day and that the doctor did not know who she had chosen. Since shortly before that was the presidential election between Trump or Clinton, I then knew that it was a woman from the USA, but nothing more. After 6 months I found out that the stem cell recipient survived but would have to wait 2 years, which is the blocking periodprovided both parties want this and the legislation of the respective countries allows this, to make contact.

I was informed of the date for the collection, which was on the same day as the Rotter Bierfest would have started and I was shocked. I asked immediately whether one may drink something then :-) The answer was yes. I got 8 syringes to take home, 4 green and 4 blue. I had to take these in the morning and in the evening on the 4 days before the donation. This medicine simulates that one is seriously ill and the body produces white blood cells. The stem cells detach from the bones and get into the blood, divide there and produce even more blood cells. I was informed about possible side effects (fever, aching limbs, etc.), but fortunately I only had a little twitch in my heartbeat sometimes, as if touching a electric fense.

Shortly before the scheduled appointment for the extraction, I got a call that the patient was not well and the appointment had to be postponed. I agreed to the new appointment and was very worried about the recipient. After the fact, Terri (the stem cell recipient) told me that she was very afraid that I would back out, but that never crossed my mind. So I waited for the new appointment.

Then the day of the removal had come. My wife and I drove back to Gauting in the morning (she had to come along because I was not allowed to drive afterwards). After breakfast and a short talk, I then came into the treatment room. I was allowed to lie down comfortablyand I got one access in my left arm and one in my right arm. I was asked over and over again if I was doing well and if everything was okay. Then the machine started pumping and there was a kind of "test run" for a few minutes.The doctor checks if everything is okay and calculates how long I have to lie down for based on the stem cells that have already been taken. In the preliminary talk I was told that the extraction takes between 3 and 6 hours, which you can pass by watching movies. If it should become uncomfortable with continued duration, one could also briefly interrupt the collection and walk a few steps. But this should not happen too often, because the effort is 10 minutes each time. So I lay there and the doctor calculated how long my collection would take based on the "test run". The doctor calculated, looked at me, and calculated again. Then he turned to me and said that I was a medical miracle. My body was producing significantly more stem cells than it was supposed to, so my collection was done in 45 minutes. I then said that no movie is worth it in that time. 😊 We decided to take another 20 minutes of stem cells to have a reserve in case something breaks during transport.

So, then the waiting started... I thought about Terri very often and wondered if she was still alive. After 6 months I didn't hear anything either, so I called AKB and asked if they had forgotten me. But they get the info from the clinic and had no info either. After about 8 months the news came: Terri is alive!

Then the waiting continued, but I was told that I could write a letter but it must not contain any personal data and information. I then sent a letter to Terri. Eventually an answer came. It was a very emotional moment: it was a letter from Terri and a letter from her son. I didn't know she had a child.

Then after 2 years, a letter came with a form asking if I would like to reveal my identity and on which I can enter my contact information. Terri got the same letter and after a few weeks my wife called me at work and told me that we had received an email with Terri's contact information. My wife forwarded the email right away and of course I googled and wrote to her right away. We are in regular contact and maintain a wonderful friendship. We want to meet in person as soon as possible.

Today I am beyond happy that Gansinger approached me at that time to ask if I could drive him to the typing campaign and let myself be typed.