East Bay girl meets bone marrow donor who saved her life

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- It was a tearful day for an East Bay girl who finally met the Boston woman who saved her life. ABC7 News was outside Oakland's Kaiser Hospital as Kristine Sydney embraced 12-year-old Mailyna Mayate.

A year ago, Sydney donated bone marrow to cure Mayate of a rare blood disorder that required monthly transfusions.

Both were overcome with emotion.

"It's so great that she could come out here and that she gave her bone marrow to me," Mayate said.

"I didn't even think about how big or important it was until I Face-timed with her and that was really powerful," she said.

Finding a marrow donor is rare. Family members are a match only 30 percent of the time.

Ethnicity matters. Both Mayate and Sydney are Filipino.

Sydney says she registered as a potential donor on a whim.