After two years of waiting, Emilia Mackay, an eight-year-old from the West Midlands, has finally met the German man whose stem cell donation gave her a second chance at life. The emotional reunion took place in London on July 14, bringing together a family forever grateful to a stranger who had signed up to a registry a decade earlier.
A Sudden Illness
In January 2023, Emilia first fell ill with what seemed to be a sickness bug and an itchy rash. Doctors initially thought it might be a virus, but her parents, James and Stephanie, grew concerned when Emilia began experiencing fatigue and unexplained bruises across her body. Blood tests revealed a dangerously low platelet count, meaning her blood was failing to clot properly.
At Worcestershire Hospital, the family received devastating news. Stephanie was told that Emilia's bone marrow was not working. Further examinations at Birmingham Children's Hospital confirmed that Emilia had aplastic anaemia, a rare and potentially life-threatening disorder in which the bone marrow fails to produce enough blood cells.
Desperate Search for a Donor
Doctors told the family that a stem cell transplant was Emilia's only hope of a cure. James, Stephanie, and Emilia's older sister Ellie, now 13, all underwent testing, but none proved to be a close enough match. The search expanded internationally, and by the end of July, two full matches had been identified in Germany.
One of those matches was Jan Koch, a 33-year-old electrical technician who had registered as a stem cell donor with DKMS when he was 20. Jan received a letter informing him that he was a match for a girl in England in need of a life-saving transplant.
After further tests to confirm his suitability, Jan underwent the donation procedure. Emilia received the stem cell transplant in September 2023 and has since made a full recovery.
The Emotional Meeting
Strict anonymity rules imposed by DKMS meant the two could not make contact for two years. Once those rules were lifted, Emilia's family and Jan decided to meet in person for the first time. On July 14, Jan walked into the room to be greeted by the entire Mackay family. He immediately embraced Emilia before exchanging presents with the family.
Stephanie, in tears, told Jan: "Thank you so much, you saved her life. You don't know how much that means to us." James added: "It was an emotional time. She ran straight to Jan and hugged him – she knew what he'd done had saved her life."
Emilia herself said: "I felt really excited to meet him. It means so much to me because if it wasn't for him giving me just a tiny bit of bone marrow, I wouldn't be here right now." She later described Jan as "my best friend ever."
Why Jan Donated
Jan, who registered with the German DKMS registry at 20, explained his motivation. "I felt like it's my duty to do it because I signed up for a reason. That's my opportunity to help someone, to save their life. I'm just happy that I could help... because I think the most important part is to save lives."
Reflecting on the emotional impact, Jan said: "I cannot imagine what kind of pain she has been through, or her parents. It's just a little piece of pain for me, but for them, it means the whole world."
The family hopes their story encourages more people to register as stem cell donors with DKMS UK.
