For bone marrow transplant recipient Anna Robinson, a failed transplant, a relapse and two rounds of chemo left physicians with little hope for success for a transplant to work, let alone, from a stranger.
Two years later, Anna’s body is producing healthy cells and has been in remission, thanks to Chillicothe High School graduate, Katie Quinn, who was turned away from a blood drive due to low iron levels and stopped instead at the Deutsche Knochenmarkspenderdatei German Bone Marrow Donor Center to leave a cheek swab.
Within a matter of months, Katie was notified that she was indeed a potential match to someone on the bone marrow registry.
Officials from the German Bone Marrow Donor Center asked Katie, then 21 years old, if she was willing to continue the process. Katie accepted.
After several more tests, it was determined that Katie was a perfect DNA match for a 22-year-old student with AML, Acute Myelogenous Leukemia, which is a fast-growing cancer of the blood and bone marrow.
At the time, Katie was a nursing student on the University of Missouri Columbia campus and made the decision to give peripheral blood stem cells to her match.
Peripheral blood stem cells are extracted through blood and not the traditional method of pulling marrow directing from the hip bones, which is a painful process that takes an extended recovery time.
“I gave through blood,” Katie said. It took about five hours and looked and felt as though she were giving blood.
Katie had stated that hospital officials in St. Louis, where she donated, told her that the blood in her body had rotated through the machine six times during her donation process.
“Immediate transporters came and took the blood and Anna got the transplant that night in Seattle,” Katie said. “She had already had one transplant from her sister but her body had relapsed and then she had to undergo two rounds of chemo.”
Katie stated that doctors were worried about Anna receiving Katie’s donation because Anna’s heighted sickness.
“But it worked,” exclaimed Katie, “and she is now in her second year of remission.”
Now that a couple of years have passed, and enough time has elapsed for confidentiality procedures through the donor center, Katie and her recipient Anna were finally able to meet.
Remarkably enough, the two met in New York at a photo shoot and interview for Self Magazine.
Katie said recently that she wasn’t super excited at first when the president of the National Donor Organization had called her.
“She was speaking in this thick German accent, and I thought she had asked me to do an interview and photo shoot for South Magazine,” laughed Katie.
It was later after an email from Anna that she came to the conclusion that it was Self Magazine, which of course, changed her slight excitement into an overwhelming excitement.
It was at that photo shoot that the two met and were even interviewed by the Today’s Show.
The two would soon find out that they would appear together on the Today’s Show, spreading the awareness of bone marrow transplantation and how easy it is to be put on the registry as a potential donor.
Katie was proud to say that the two email each other and are excited to again get to see each other along with both of their parents.
She reported that Anna is back at school and finishing her engineering degree.
Katie and Anna’s feature will appear in the December issue of Self Magazine which should hit stands before Nov. 24. The two will appear on the Today’s Show in New York on Friday, Nov. 20, at 7 a.m. central time.
Katie Quinn is the daughter of Robert and Judy Quinn of Chillicothe, Mo., and 2005 Chillicothe High School graduate. She is a registered nurse currently employed in the medical intensive care unit at Boone Hospital Center in Columbia, Mo.
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For bone marrow transplant recipient Anna Robinson, a failed transplant, a relapse and two rounds of chemo left physicians with little hope for success for a transplant to work, let alone, from a stranger.
Two years later, Anna’s body is producing healthy cells and has been in remission, thanks to Chillicothe High School graduate, Katie Quinn, who was turned away from a blood drive due to low iron levels and stopped instead at the Deutsche Knochenmarkspenderdatei German Bone Marrow Donor Center to leave a cheek swab.
Within a matter of months, Katie was notified that she was indeed a potential match to someone on the bone marrow registry.
Officials from the German Bone Marrow Donor Center asked Katie, then 21 years old, if she was willing to continue the process. Katie accepted.
After several more tests, it was determined that Katie was a perfect DNA match for a 22-year-old student with AML, Acute Myelogenous Leukemia, which is a fast-growing cancer of the blood and bone marrow.
At the time, Katie was a nursing student on the University of Missouri Columbia campus and made the decision to give peripheral blood stem cells to her match.
Peripheral blood stem cells are extracted through blood and not the traditional method of pulling marrow directing from the hip bones, which is a painful process that takes an extended recovery time.
“I gave through blood,” Katie said. It took about five hours and looked and felt as though she were giving blood.
Katie had stated that hospital officials in St. Louis, where she donated, told her that the blood in her body had rotated through the machine six times during her donation process.
“Immediate transporters came and took the blood and Anna got the transplant that night in Seattle,” Katie said. “She had already had one transplant from her sister but her body had relapsed and then she had to undergo two rounds of chemo.”
Katie stated that doctors were worried about Anna receiving Katie’s donation because Anna’s heighted sickness.
“But it worked,” exclaimed Katie, “and she is now in her second year of remission.”
Now that a couple of years have passed, and enough time has elapsed for confidentiality procedures through the donor center, Katie and her recipient Anna were finally able to meet.
Remarkably enough, the two met in New York at a photo shoot and interview for Self Magazine.
Katie said recently that she wasn’t super excited at first when the president of the National Donor Organization had called her.
“She was speaking in this thick German accent, and I thought she had asked me to do an interview and photo shoot for South Magazine,” laughed Katie.
It was later after an email from Anna that she came to the conclusion that it was Self Magazine, which of course, changed her slight excitement into an overwhelming excitement.
It was at that photo shoot that the two met and were even interviewed by the Today’s Show.
The two would soon find out that they would appear together on the Today’s Show, spreading the awareness of bone marrow transplantation and how easy it is to be put on the registry as a potential donor.
Katie was proud to say that the two email each other and are excited to again get to see each other along with both of their parents.
She reported that Anna is back at school and finishing her engineering degree.
Katie and Anna’s feature will appear in the December issue of Self Magazine which should hit stands before Nov. 24. The two will appear on the Today’s Show in New York on Friday, Nov. 20, at 7 a.m. central time.
Katie Quinn is the daughter of Robert and Judy Quinn of Chillicothe, Mo., and 2005 Chillicothe High School graduate. She is a registered nurse currently employed in the medical intensive care unit at Boone Hospital Center in Columbia, Mo.
