A Margate couple whose sons were born with a rare, life-threatening genetic disorder have met the two German donors whose stem cell donations saved their children’s lives.
Kate Greenstock, 41, and her partner James Reeve, 44, faced unimaginable fear when their first son, Otis, now five, was diagnosed with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID).
The condition leaves infants without a functioning immune system and is typically fatal within the first two years of life unless treated with immune-restoring therapies like transplants, according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Their world was shattered again when their second son, Nelson, now three, was also diagnosed with SCID. Both boys needed stem cell transplants to survive.
Against the odds, the Anthony Nolan charity located matching donors for both Otis and Nelson, giving the family a renewed hope they desperately needed.
The charity facilitates around 1,100 stem cell transplants from an unrelated donor every year for patients in the UK and more than 300 for patients abroad.
The stem cell transplants were a success – and this year, just after Otis’s five-year anniversary post-transplant, the family arranged to meet the two donors.
Ms Greenstock and Mr Reeve invited the two “selfless” men, Domenik and Julian, both from Germany, to the TCS London Marathon, which Mr Reeve took part in, and said they now feel like “family”.
Ms Greenstock, a design director, said: “It was one of the best experiences of my life, meeting them.
“I collected Domenik from Stansted Airport, and I wrote in German, ‘Thank you for saving Otis’ life’, on my sign.
“That hug that we had at Stansted was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.”
Mr Reeve, a software designer, added: “They have made our family possible.
“Meeting them meant the absolute world to us and… I’ve got a feeling that this is the beginning of a lifelong relationship.
“It feels like they’re family.”
Prior to Otis being born in July 2019, Ms Greenstock and Mr Reeve said they had never heard of SCID.
However, when their son stopped gaining weight at around three months old and started vomiting, the couple knew “something wasn’t right”.
He was eventually admitted to Great Ormond Street Hospital and placed on a ventilator.
The couple were told that, without a stem cell transplant, their son had “no way to fight off infection”.
Thankfully, a donor was found for Otis – Domenik, from Germany – and Anthony Nolan was able to transport his cells to the UK.
The transplant was successful, and the family were able to return home and celebrate Otis’ first birthday and then Christmas.
Since they knew Otis had SCID, there was a one in four chance that another baby would have the same condition.
When Ms Greenstock fell pregnant again, she underwent testing and Nelson was diagnosed with SCID before he was born in March 2022.
“We were absolutely devastated,” she said.
“We knew we were taking a chance by getting pregnant again, but we didn’t think we were going to be that unlucky.”
The early diagnosis meant Anthony Nolan could search for a donor before he was born – and the best match was Julian, from Germany.
Nelson underwent his transplant in June 2022 at just three months old.
“We just feel so overwhelmingly lucky,” Ms Greenstock said.
“In some ways we’ve been unlucky, but we’ve been so lucky that Anthony Nolan exists and that two men in Germany who, could have easily said ‘no’, were willing to give up their time and put their bodies through something for us.”
With both boys now “happy and thriving”, Kate and James want to continue raising awareness of the charity and the importance of life-saving stem cell transplants.
