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Bone marrow recipient meets German donor

It was a dream-come-true for 20-year-old Penny Smith.

Smith, left, and Fosse, just moments after their emotional meeting.

On April 22, in front of an audience composed of members of the MUSC transplant team and other staff, Smith had the opportunity to meet the stranger whose generosity meant for her the difference between life and death.

In 1995, Smith faced a battle against leukemia, requiring aggressive treatment. But the treatment would also destroy her healthy bone marrow cells. Her survival then depended on a bone marrow transplant from someone with compatible bone marrow. Smith’s best hope lay with her brothers, but neither of her brothers’ marrows was compatible. Nor could a match be found from any of the numerous other family members who stepped forward to be tested. But fortunately for Smith, a computer search found a stranger whose marrow was a perfect match.

On Nov. 22, 1995, at MUSC, Smith, then just shy of her 18th birthday, became the first person in the United States to undergo transplant and follow-up as an outpatient after getting bone marrow from an unrelated individual.

A year after the transplant, according to the protocol of the National Marrow Donor Registry, Smith found out that her donor was Andrea Fosse, a mother of two from Coesfeld, Germany. The two have been corresponding since.

Smith made her strong desire to some day meet her donor known to many people, but it was Vanessa Hill, a reporter from the local ABC affiliate in Charleston, who made it happen. Hill covered the story of Smith’s transplant and did several follow-up interviews with Smith. As she got to know Smith and her family better, making Smith’s dream of meeting her donor come true became a silent obsession for Hill.

It took awhile, but nothing would deter Hill from her mission. With the help of her brother Ervin Hill, a United Airlines employee, and the generosity of United Airlines, the Fosses were able to come to the United States. Hill conspired with Smith’s parents and the members of the transplant team to make the meeting a complete surprise.

Smith was set up as a panel member during transplant grand rounds, an annual event at MUSC, held during National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week. She was told that the topic was communication between bone marrow donors and recipients. Hill was the moderator of the panel discussion.

After the discussion proceeded for about a half an hour, Hill showed some old video of Smith where she was passionate in expressing her desire to meet her donor.

Following this, Hill brought out Fosse, and the tears flowed.

Following the emotional meeting, Fosse got to spend nearly two weeks with Smith and her family. They remained in Charleston several days, attending together the annual Celebration of Life Picnic on Sunday. Then the Fosses spent several days in Savannah to be near the Smith’s home in Bluffton, South Carolina.