4-year-old Leukemia survivor meets man who saved his life

A life-saving, 31-year-old Chicago resident finally met the 4-year-old, Massachusetts boy whose life he saved two years ago after donating bone marrow through the Gift of Life Marrow Registry. The emotional meeting took place yesterday during the Gift of Life’s Steps for Life 5k Run & Walk, held at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.

Graeme Ossey joined the marrow registry in 2007, and donated bone marrow in May 2018 to Grant Medeiros, who was then 3 years old and battling leukemia. The experience was particularly significant to Ossey as he and his wife had recently had their first child, a boy. Due to medical privacy laws, donors and recipients cannot meet until at least oneyear, post-donation.

“When I heard the news that I was a match for a patient in need, I felt very grateful that I had this amazing opportunity,” said Ossey. “At the time, our son was less than a year old and I couldn’t begin to imagine what my recipient and his family were going through. I was so excited to finally meet this strong kid who has gone through so much. He and his family are such an inspiration to me, and I can’t wait to get to know them more.”

“As a parent, the number one thing you want to do in life is protect your kid. And when something like this happens, you’re at the mercy of strangers,” said Philip Medeiros, the recipient’s father. “It’s amazing how many great people out there, whom I’ve never met, did something that I couldn’t do. So, thank you so much, I greatly appreciate it and I will never be able to thank you enough.”

Since its start in 1991, Gift of Life Marrow Registry has grown to more than 363,000 individuals who have volunteered to donate blood stem cells or bone marrow to save a life. To date, Gift of Life has facilitated over 17,100 matches for those with leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell, and nearly 100 other diseases, resulting in more than 3,555 transplants.