Dorking stem cell donor hero ‘pays forward’ life-saving donation stranger gave his dad

He is in many ways a very normal teenager – he lives with his parents, he loves gaming, and he works alongside his dad Grzegorz, who goes by Gregg.

However, recently he did something truly amazing. He offered a total stranger a second chance at life – selflessly donating some of his stem cells after signing up to the stem cell donor register with blood cancer charity DKMS.

Karol’s story began when he was just 15, and was studying for his GCSE exams.

Sadly, his dad, had been diagnosed with T cell lymphoma, a rare form of blood cancer.

He was very unwell, and doctors said that he would need a stem cell transplant in order to recover.

For many patients with blood cancer and blood disorders, a stem cell transplant represents their only opportunity for a second chance at life, but just one in three patients will find a matching donor in their family, and only seven per cent of the eligible population here in the UK are signed up to the donor register.

Unfortunately, none of the family were a match for Gregg, so a global search began to find a donor who would be able to help him.

Thankfully, four years ago, someone was found. A man around Gregg’s age, in his birth country of Poland, had signed up to the register and was able to come forward and donate.

“Dad had his transplant on 21 January, and we call it his birthday,” says Karol.

“Or his second birthday, I suppose. It’s the day that he got his life back and was able to start over.”

Thanks to that anonymous stranger in Poland, Karol’s dad was able to make a full recovery.

Karol hoped that one day he could help someone in the same position.

“When Dad had his transplant, my parents asked if I would think about signing up once I was old enough,” says Karol.

“Someone had done it and gone on to save my dad, so if I could have the chance to do the same, I wanted to give back.

“My whole family are signed up, and really passionate about getting people on the register.

“Joining up was easy – I just ordered a kit from the DKMS website, did some cheek swabs and answered a few health questions.”

A few years passed, and Karol had mostly forgotten about signing up to the register. To his surprise, just before last Christmas he got an email from DKMS to say that he was now a potential match.

After some additional tests, the match was confirmed. A blood cancer patient was in hospital receiving treatment, they needed a stem cell transplant, and Karol was the one who could give them a second chance, just like the one his dad had a few years before.

Karol underwent some more medical checks, to confirm he was fit to donate, and was sent home with some self-injections to encourage stem cell growth in the days leading up to the donation.

Then, in January, he travelled to London to complete the donation.

“I’m a bit scared of needles, but my dad was able to do the injections for me, which made it easier,” says Karol.

“It was actually quite exciting going up to do the donation – I haven’t travelled by myself much, but the nurses were really nice and helpful.

“They even got double the cells that they needed.”

Karol donated his stem cells through his blood, in a simple outpatient procedure called PBSC which is similar to donating blood platelets.

There are strict regulations protecting the anonymity of donors and recipients immediately following a donation, but Karol does know that his cells were immediately put on a plane across the Atlantic, and were received by a middle aged woman in Canada.

“My mum was quite emotional,” says Karol. “The patient was a woman her age, so I think it meant a lot to her.

“It felt very full circle, someone was able to help our family, and now I’ve been able to help someone else. It feels good to pay it forward.”

Now, Karol has joined forces with DKMS to encourage other people to join the register too.

DKMS spokesperson Bronagh Hughes said: “Karol has done something truly incredible at such a young age, and paid forward the life-saving gift that his dad received from a total stranger.

“Sadly however, there are thousands of patients with blood cancers or disorders still waiting for their match, and we need more people on the stem cell donor register to give them the best odds of a second chance at life.

“Joining the stem cell register only takes a few minutes, and anyone aged 16-55 and in general good health can sign up.

“You just need to answer some medical questions, and complete some painless mouth swabs.

“You can find out more, and order a free swab kit at dkms.org.uk.”

Karol said: “I would definitely encourage anyone who’s eligible to sign up. The stem cell donor register has done so much for our family.

“I couldn’t imagine my dad not being here, and joining the register means that you could save someone else’s life.”

Things you didn’t know about blood cancer:

• Blood cancers are the third most common cause of cancer death in the UK
• Every year, nearly 13,000 people die from blood cancer in the UK
• At any one time there are around 2,000 people in the UK in need of a stem cell transplant