A WOMAN who feared she might die after being diagnosed with advanced blood cancer has told of the unbreakable bond she shares with her younger brother, after he saved her life with a stem cell transplant at University Hospital Southampton.
Doctors told 35-year-old Kate Corney that a transplant would be her best chance of survival when six months of aggressive chemotherapy had failed to cure her Hodgkins Lymphoma. But the history teacher was warned there were no guarantees.
A stem cell transplant would give Kate a 50 per cent chance of success while there was a 10 per cent chance of her developing a life-threatening complication. Her best hope would be a sibling donor - but the chances of a suitable match were just 25 per cent.
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Despite the odds stacked against Kate, she struck lucky. Sam proved a match and didn’t hesitate to donate.
The life-saving transplant took place at University Hospital Southampton, which is celebrating 20 years of delivering bone marrow and stem cell transplants this week.
In the past two decades more than 2,000 transplants have taken place at the hospital, which has been recognised as the best hospital in Europe for bone marrow and stem cell transplant outcomes.
Kate, now 35 and in remission, said: "I feel unbelievably lucky to have found a donor and there was something extra special in that person being my brother.
"It’s impossible to put into words how grateful I am to Sam and to the incredible transplant team at University Hospital Southampton for giving me my life back."
Kate was diagnosed with blood cancer in July 2014, after leaving it late to seek help.
Kate, who lives in Emsworth with fiancé Mark, was diagnosed at Portsmouth’s Queen Alexandra Hospital and spent three weeks there before beginning six months of chemotherapy.
A stem cell transplant was discussed and Sam, now a 33-year-old web designer who lives in London, was found to be a match.
Ten days after admission to University Hospital Southampton in June 2015, the transplant took place.
Speaking about his decision to be a donor for Kate, Sam added: "I was really happy to be Kate’s donor, it was nice to feel I could help her."
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