A stem cell transplant saved the life of 9-year-old Samantha Andrews, who was battling a relapse of acute myeloid leukemia. A year later, Samantha and her family look forward to her second chance at being a normal kid.
In August of 2023, 9-year-old Samantha Andrews was looking forward to milestones like starting soccer, going on her Make-A-Wish trip to Disney, and joining her classmates at school. After achieving a year of remission from her battle with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), Samantha was excited to be a normal kid again.
“She’s tried to live life and do everything she can do, because she had a year and a half where she could do nothing. For her to get to school and be with friends for the summer was a sign of getting back to normal,” said Samantha’s mother, Serena.
Unfortunately, that normalcy didn’t last. On August 31st, the Andrews family received the devastating news that Samantha had relapsed. When Samantha found out she said, “But I’m just starting to live life again.”
Finding a match
Due to her relapse, Samantha’s doctors determined that she was high-risk and would need a stem cell transplant to survive. When a stem cell transplant is needed, only about 30% of patients can find a matching donor in their family. Samantha was not one of them. Because she needed to find an unrelated donor, her medical team immediately began searching the database for a matching donor, and her family took action as well.
The Andrews family reached out to the non-profit DKMS, the world’s largest stem cell donor center, to set up donor drives so that members of their community could register as potential donors for Samantha and patients like her. Samantha’s story spread quickly throughout the community, inspiring over 1,000 people to register as potential stem cell donors.
Thankfully, the search was successful, and in December of 2023, just a few months after her relapse, Samantha underwent a life-saving stem cell transplant from an anonymous 19-year-old woman in Germany. The transplant was a success, and Samantha returned home on the path to recovery. It’s been almost a year since her transplant and Samantha, now 11 years old, is in remission and enjoying getting back to her normal life.
The gift of life
“She’s taking advantage of feeling well and having the gift to live life! The coming months are full of more things she wants to do, and we’re here to support her and make her dreams come true!” Serena said.
Stem cell transplants are a unique form of transplant, as they are one of the few that come from a living donor. The donor’s stem cells completely regenerate within weeks of the donation. Donations from unrelated donors are made completely anonymously. Anonymity can be lifted depending on the donor and recipient’s country. In Samantha’s case, a two-year anonymity period is required before they can learn each other’s identities.
Until then, Samantha has nicknamed her donor Gery. She hopes to eventually meet Gery and thank her for saving her life. Samantha continues to improve as she looks forward to finally going on that Disney trip and getting the chance to be a normal kid again — something only possible due to her transplant and the selflessness of her donor.
