Army veteran befriends man who saved his life from leukaemia

An Army veteran who survived an aggressive form of leukaemia has finally met the stranger who saved his life and gave him the chance to watch his daughter grow up.

Craig Sinclair, 28, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in May 2018 after symptoms of the fast-growing blood cancer went largely unnoticed during his military service.

Eight years later, he met the stem cell donor whose selfless decision to join a donor register gave him a second chance at life.

"My donor has given me the last eight years of my life," said Mr Sinclair, of Aldershot.

"I'm now able to see my daughter grow up. An act of selflessness saved and has given me a second chance in life."

Mr Sinclair, who served in the British Army for more than 10 years, said his physical fitness initially masked the warning signs of his illness.

"Because I was in the services all the signs and symptoms of being unwell were hidden because of being so physically active," he said

Following his diagnosis, Mr Sinclair was transferred from Frimley Park Hospital to St George's Hospital, where he underwent chemotherapy, radiotherapy and a stem cell transplant.

But finding a suitable donor was far from straightforward.

Tests revealed that his sister was not a match, leaving doctors searching for an unrelated donor.

Eventually, a match was found through the Anthony Nolan stem cell register.

That donor was Stephen, a businessman from Preston in Lancashire, who had signed up to the register in 2017.

The two men remained strangers as Mr Sinclair recovered from his treatment, including throughout the Covid pandemic.

Then, earlier this year, Mr Sinclair received an unexpected email from St George's Hospital asking whether he would like to meet the man who had helped save his life.

"I agreed straight away," he said.

Despite some initial nerves, the pair quickly formed a connection when they finally met, accompanied by their families.

"Once we met, everything felt easy and natural," Mr Sinclair said.

"We had lunch together and discovered how similar we are. Our families were there too, which made the afternoon more relaxed.

"It felt like closing the book of the past and opening a new book for the future."

For Stephen, now 35, the meeting was equally emotional.

He had joined the Anthony Nolan register after discovering how straightforward the process was.

"When I saw how easy it was, I signed up without a second thought," he said.

"I have always felt the need to help other people, and this was the perfect way. I felt like this gave me the purpose I had been searching for."

Meeting Mr Sinclair and his family brought home the impact of that decision.

"When I heard Craig's story, it was so empowering and being able to meet him and his family just brought a wave of strength along the way," Stephen said.

"It was inspiring and gave me a new perspective and appreciation of life."

The meeting has also highlighted the importance of recruiting more potential stem cell donors.

According to Anthony Nolan, only one in three patients who need a stem cell transplant will find a suitable match within their own family.

The remaining two-thirds depend on finding an unrelated donor.

Rowena Bentley, the charity's head of programme and recruitment, said Craig and Stephen's friendship demonstrated the extraordinary difference a donor could make.

"It's wonderful to see how well Craig is doing and to see the special friendship that he and Stephen have developed," she said.

"Anthony Nolan urgently needs more people, especially young men aged between 16-30 and people from minority ethnic backgrounds, to join our register so the charity can find more matches for patients in need."

Mr Sinclair hopes sharing his experience will encourage others to consider joining the register.

"I hope that by sharing our story, a lot more people will think about joining the register," he said.

"Donating is a gift of life. I'm the living proof that it can be a success."

Anthony Nolan has helped facilitate more than 30,100 stem cell transplants since it was founded in 1974.

People aged 16 to 30 can join the charity's stem cell donor register.