Donor gave man life-saving transplant — then 11 years later became best man at wedding
Over a decade after receiving a life-saving transplant, Ben Clark finally met the donor who helped save his life.
Clark was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer called T-Cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma. After extensive treatments, the Iowa man went into remission but soon learned the cancer came back, according to Deutsche Knochenmarkspenderdatei (DKMS), an international nonprofit organization.
Clark was in need of a stem cell transplant, something Jan Rolfes, who lived in Sweden, signed up for two years earlier when a family friend of his was diagnosed with Leukemia, KCAU reported.
”As a child, Jan remembers his parents registering... When a family friend’s child was diagnosed with cancer,” DKMS said in the release. “When he was old enough, Jan did so as well.”
The pair were a match, and the transplant was a success, DKMS reported.
“Honestly, I was hopeful someone out there was a match. I probably overlooked how big of a deal it really was at the time just due to so many emotions and other scary thoughts. Will I survive this was the biggest scare,” Clark told DKMS.
Clark’s wife, Jayme Clark, told McClatchy News that at the time, her soon-to-be husband had no idea who his donor was. Because of rules, she said it was 10 years before either of them knew who the other was. Then, they started emailing each other.
With their wedding set to take place in September, she thought it would be a good idea to invite Rolfes to the wedding, KCAU reported.
“When I met Ben I knew that ... one of his dreams, was to meet his bone marrow donor. So I tried to find him on my own to invite him to the wedding and the reason I did that was because we knew it was a long shot,” his wife told the outlet.
But, Ben Clark was also reaching out to Rolfes, and he had another idea in mind: To ask Rolfes to be the best man at his wedding, KCAU reported.
“Without him I wouldn’t be here, you know, and that’s what this is all about,” Ben Clark told NBC News.
Ben Clark and Rolfes met for the first time the day before the couple’s wedding, according to DKMS.
Jayme Clark said that at their wedding reception the couple had a donor drive so anyone eligible and willing could join the registry.
“Sometimes ... you can do tiny things that are just right to do, they can have a big impact,” Rolfes told NBC News.
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