In 2012, Malmesbury resident Anja Kruger\u2019s world came crashing down when she was diagnosed with Hereditary Haemolytic Anaemia \u2013 a life threatening blood disorder \u2013 at only 14 years old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The diagnosis came as a complete shock. Describing herself as a once-energetic teenager who loved spending time with her friends, Kruger said a persistent pain in her spleen prompted a doctor\u2019s visit, and further tests confirmed her diagnosis, for which she needed a stem-cell transplant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While waiting to find a matching donor, the young woman decided to take a natural approach by following a mostly plant-based diet to give her body the best chance of recovery following the transplant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her prayers were answered four years later in her matric year when a suitable stem-cell donor was found, but her joy was short-lived as the donor withdrew from the process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe setback was devastating. It meant that the search process would have to start from scratch, and I\u2019d have to resume heavy medication and weekly blood transfusions until a new donor was found.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fortunately, another donor was found soon after, but she had to steel herself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t believe how quickly the SA Bone Marrow Registry (SABMR) found another match. Admittedly, I was sceptical and didn\u2019t want to get my hopes up, as I thought this donor may also withdraw \u2013 but thankfully, she didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kruger\u2019s donor, Ronel Robinson from Pretoria, had signed-up with the SABMR 11 years before following a donor drive in aid of a friend\u2019s child who had been diagnosed with leukaemia. The DNA match between the two were so close Kruger\u2019s doctor couldn\u2019t believe the two were not related. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Robinson said when she received the call she was in tears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTo have been able to give the gift of life to someone is a feeling I simply cannot explain,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen I received the call from the SABMR I was thrilled. I kept thinking how wonderful an opportunity I\u2019d been given to help save someone\u2019s life, and all it was going to take was a few hours of my time. I received first-class treatment from the SABMR as well as the team from the transplant centre. Everyone took such good care of me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Apart from a few minor side effects in the week leading up to the donation, Robinson says her experience was relatively painless. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once medically cleared for a stem-cell donation, the donor typically receives a five-day course of daily granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) or Neupogen injections to increase the number of stem cells in their blood stream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Robinson said she had a few headaches, but nothing compared to what a patient with a life threatening blood disorder would have to go through. \u201cI would be lying if I said I wasn\u2019t nervous, but I was comforted by the fact that I would be helping someone in need, and everyone made my hospital stay so comfortable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kruger\u2019s transplant took place in December that same year. She remembers her sister shaving her hair on Christmas Day as she started losing her locks following the two weeks of chemo before her transplant. \u201cIt was a sad and happy day,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHaving to isolate during the holidays after the transplant was hard as I couldn\u2019t be close to my family, but they gathered outside the hospital window on Christmas Day to check on me and cheer me up. The visit, albeit through a glass pane, kept me going. By New Year\u2019s Day, I was discharged, and I made a full recovery in the months that followed,\u201d says Kruger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has been six years since Kruger received her transplant. Due to donor-patient confidentiality, meeting up with donors or patients can only be facilitated by the SABMR three years after the transplant. As luck would have it, they met each other for the first time in Malmesbury \u2013 Kruger\u2019s hometown, last month. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both were nervous, yet excited at the prospect of finally meeting each other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kruger says she feels like she\u2019s known Robinson her whole life. \u201cWe ended up chatting for six or more hours. The strange thing I realised when talking to her is that I now also love spicy food just like she does, which I previously didn\u2019t. I am not sure if this has anything to do with her DNA in my body or not, but it\u2019s a funny coincidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s difficult for me to express in words how much her selfless act has meant to me. While she thinks it\u2019s no big deal, she gave me my life back. That\u2019s a really big deal in my books. Her name means \u2018God\u2019s joy\u2019, and she epitomises it in every sense.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Robinson says it was an honour to be able to give Kruger a second chance and she\u2019d do it all over again if she had to. \u201cAny mother would do it to spare the life of another\u2019s child. I kept thinking that this could have been my child. I can\u2019t imagine what a parent has to go through when their child is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness and you\u2019re basically helpless and reliant on a match from a stranger to save your child\u2019s life. To see her so healthy and thriving is the biggest gift for me \u2013 one that I\u2019ll treasure forever.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In 2012, Malmesbury resident Anja Kruger\u2019s world came crashing down when she was diagnosed with Hereditary Haemolytic Anaemia \u2013 a life threatening blood disorder \u2013 at only 14 years 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