East Bay girl meets bone marrow donor who saved her life

Tuesday, July 28, 2015
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.
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"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.
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