00594 Report2C Digital 2020-04-30 - Flipbook - Page 3
Watch Kathryn meet her donor.
LIFE-SAVING DONATION
CHANGES KATHRYN’S WORLD
SELFLESS GIFTS FROM DONORS TRANSFORM PATIENTS’ LIVES
Photos (front cover and above)
by Liam Bruce Photography
Kathryn began having chronic health problems at age 15 and was in and
out of the hospital for 2½ years. In 2016, she finally received a diagnosis
of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a life-threatening
autoimmune disease.
“I was walking to one of my classes when I got the news,” says Kathryn.
“It was in the middle of my spring semester of college sophomore year,
and I remember thinking that whoever my donor was, they had just
changed my whole life.”
“Receiving a diagnosis was bittersweet,” says Kathryn. “It was a relief
to finally have a diagnosis after so many years of not knowing, but
my disease was rare and more severe than a typical case. I knew my
treatment options were going to be more extreme than I had expected
them to be and perhaps even completely change my life.”
Most patients remain in the hospital for about 100 days following their
transplant. Kathryn surprised everyone when she was released just 14
days after receiving her new cells. She has dealt with minor graft-versushost disease, but overall it has been a smooth recovery.
Kathryn completed treatment but relapsed in December 2017. Doctors
told her she would need a blood stem cell transplant—the only known
cure for HLH.
Not having a fully matched donor in her family, Kathryn turned to
Be The Match®. Luckily, a matching donor was found.
Today, Kathryn has returned to college and is working on finishing her
creative writing major.
Kathryn says, “I think that people have a natural inclination to want to
better the world in a big way, but most people don’t realize the big way
they’ve been looking for can come in the form of a simple swab kit.
Becoming a donor is a small way to have big impact on someone’s life.
For whoever you’re saving, you’re saving their entire world.”
2019 Report to the Community | 1