Sheffield cancer survivor's emotional reunion with donor who saved his life after wife's incredible surprise
The Sheffield cancer survivor was surprised by meeting his donor
A Sheffield cancer survivor has been reunited with the stem cell donor who saved his life in an emotional surprise arranged by his wife.
Retired surgical instrument maker Stephen Cutts believed he was simply celebrating his wedding anniversary with his family, but his wife Sarah had secretly organised for his lifesaving donor Kevin McNicholl to travel from Belfast and meet him for the first time.
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Stephen was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in April 2023 after experiencing a cough and tiredness which he initially put down to work.
Doctors decided an anonymous donor on the Anthony Nolan stem cell register would be the best match for Stephen, and his transplant went ahead after he had undergone seven rounds of chemotherapy.
The pair were initially only able to communicate anonymously, but were eventually put in contact and began speaking through FaceTime and WhatsApp.
Then, in July, Sarah arranged for Kevin to surprise Stephen at what he thought was an anniversary celebration.
Stephen said: “My family were at the anniversary meal, and Kevin was there with his back to me.
“As soon as he turned around, I knew it was him. I hugged him - we all did. There were plenty of tears.
“He is the nicest person I’ve ever met and to go through what he did for nothing and someone he didn’t know was incredible. He will always be part of our lives.”
Kevin was 21 when he was told he was a match for someone in need of a stem cell transplant.
The 24-year-old software engineer from Belfast said: “When I found out I was a match, my instant reaction was I wanted to do it.”
Kevin donated his lifesaving stem cells through PBSC (peripheral blood stem cell) donation, which involves collecting stem cells through the bloodstream rather than an operation.
He said: “The process itself was fairly straightforward. A couple of trips to London for a medical and to carry out the procedure, and the great team from Anthony Nolan – as well as the doctors and nurses – made it as easy as it could be.”
Kevin often thought about the person who received his donation and wondered how he was doing. He said he was pleased to hear Stephen was in remission.
“It was an incredible feeling when I met Stephen. He’s one of the strongest people I’ve ever met.
Nothing that I had to do compares in the slightest to what he had to go through,” Kevin said.
After donating, Kevin is now encouraging others to join the Anthony Nolan stem cell register.
He said: “I signed up thanks to my local Gaelic Football club in Magherafelt – roughly about seven years before I received the call telling me I was a match.”
“Mine was a PBSC donation – it’s a lot less daunting than people might think. I’d encourage every club and organisation to keep running these drives and every individual to get signed up. You never know if your name will come up and, if it does, you have the chance to save someone’s life.”
Charlotte Cunliffe, Director of Register Development at Anthony Nolan, said: “It’s great to see that Kevin joined the register at just 17 and he has gone on to give Stephen a second chance at life.
“It’s important that we recruit young people to the register because people under 30 provide three-quarters of stem cell donations for UK patients, yet they represent just 40 per cent of our register. That gap means we must continue recruiting young people like Kevin so that we can continue to save lives through stem cells.”
People aged 16 to 30 can sign up to the Anthony Nolan register online and send back their swabs to potentially become a match for someone in need.