“The selfless act of my donor gifting me with his bone marrow stem cells not only saved my life but also renewed my faith in the power of human connection and the extraordinary impact of a single act of kindness.”
As Ricki-Lee Hamman looks back on her journey, she is reminded of that moment in January 2014 that forever changed her life. On what should have been a memorable end to a family trip to Thailand, she faced a sudden and terrifying challenge. She remembers not feeling well during their holiday, and on a particular day she felt especially exhausted and struggled to keep her eyes open. Her parents called a doctor, because she was in no condition to go anywhere. What they thought was her falling asleep was in fact her slipping in and out of consciousness. She received blood transfusions in an ICU thousands of kilometres from home and upon her return to Cape Town and after a barrage of tests they learned that she had Aplastic Anaemia, a rare blood disorder that meant her body couldn’t produce blood. She was faced with the daunting reality that she needed a bone marrow stem cell transplant. The odds of finding a match were slim — 1 in 100 000. After not finding a match in South Africa, the search was extended globally. A donor from America, a stranger with a heart full of kindness, stepped forward and offered her a lifeline. She is now in her sixth year working as a physiotherapist, a career that allows her to give back and make a difference in the lives of others. Ricki-Lee and her donor, Rey, have contact and she is incredibly grateful that he made the courageous and selfless decision to donate his stem cells and with that, giving her a chance to live and thrive. November 2024 marked ten years since she received her life-saving transplant.