Hampshire man who was given days to live meets stem cell donor who saved his life

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com 
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
A retired journalist who was told he had just days to live after being diagnosed with leukaemia has met the stem cell donor who saved his life eight years on.

Meeting at the offices of DKMS - a charity that aims to recruit stem cell donors - Ivor Godfrey-Davis, 73, from Andover, smiled and hugged his donor Mark Jones, a 54-year-old railway worker from Witham, Essex.

‘We are genetic twins,’ Mr Godfrey-Davis told Mr Jones. ‘Nobody is closer to this guy than me and nobody is closer to me than this guy, thank you so much!’

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Godfrey-Davis was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in January 2015.

Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) patient Ivor Godfrey-Davis, left, 73, from Andover, Hampshire, with his blood stem cell donor, Mark Jones, 54, from Witham, Essex, as they meet for the first time after the life-saving donation, at the offices of DKMS in London. Picture: Victoria Jones/PA WireAcute myeloid leukaemia (AML) patient Ivor Godfrey-Davis, left, 73, from Andover, Hampshire, with his blood stem cell donor, Mark Jones, 54, from Witham, Essex, as they meet for the first time after the life-saving donation, at the offices of DKMS in London. Picture: Victoria Jones/PA Wire
Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) patient Ivor Godfrey-Davis, left, 73, from Andover, Hampshire, with his blood stem cell donor, Mark Jones, 54, from Witham, Essex, as they meet for the first time after the life-saving donation, at the offices of DKMS in London. Picture: Victoria Jones/PA Wire

He told the PA news agency: ‘I asked (doctors) “how long do I have left?” And she said “well, untreated, probably seven to 10 days at the most”.’

He then received chemotherapy at Southampton Hospital in June 2015, which was successful but doctors told him he had a high chance of relapsing and the cancer returning.

Mr Godfrey Davis said: ‘I was told that, genetically, I had a predisposition to relapsing at a chance of 75 per cent, with only a 25 per cent chance of not relapsing.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad
From left, Alison Williams, patient Ivor Godfrey-Davis, 73, from Andover with his blood stem cell donor, Mark Jones, 54, from Witham, Essex, and his partner Rachel Lee as they meet for the first time after the life-saving donation Picture: Victoria Jones/PA WireFrom left, Alison Williams, patient Ivor Godfrey-Davis, 73, from Andover with his blood stem cell donor, Mark Jones, 54, from Witham, Essex, and his partner Rachel Lee as they meet for the first time after the life-saving donation Picture: Victoria Jones/PA Wire
From left, Alison Williams, patient Ivor Godfrey-Davis, 73, from Andover with his blood stem cell donor, Mark Jones, 54, from Witham, Essex, and his partner Rachel Lee as they meet for the first time after the life-saving donation Picture: Victoria Jones/PA Wire

‘So then I was told, actually, a stem cell transplant really is the only real hope we have of any success in my case.’

However, due to his unusual genetic make-up, there was initially no stem cell match for Mr Godfrey-Davis.

A few weeks later he received the news that two possible donors had emerged - one in the UK and one in Germany.

In August 2015, he received a stem cell transplant from the donor in the UK - who turned out to be Mr Jones - and the transplant was successful.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Although Mr Godfrey-Davis did develop Graft versus host disease (GvHD) which means the transplanted cells from the donor recognised Mr Godfrey-Davis’ cells as foreign and attacked them, the NHS described the condition as 'usually mild'.

‘Then that developed into anaemia and I was back in hospital for six weeks at a time, having two blood transfusions twice a day, three days a week,’ he said.

‘But that passed and I have been fine, well and able to lead a normal life ever since; I am truly overwhelmed.’

Mr Godfrey-Davis was unable to make contact with his donor for some time - for two years a donor and patient are not allowed to contact each other and must stay anonymous.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

After three years he was allowed to send a letter to his donor - however, he did not receive a reply immediately.

‘Last August, or September, out of the blue I had a letter from the hospital which I hadn't been expecting because all of my clinical appointments were up to date,’ said Mr Godfrey-Davis.

‘I opened it and it said “Dear Ivor, here is a letter from your donor”. The letter said a lot of time elapsed, but I think about you often and I really would - if you are interested - like to get to know you, and so on. So, I jumped at this chance.’

In 2014, Mr Jones was inspired to join DKMS's stem cell register after seeing a story on Facebook about an American boy who received a stem cell transplant to fight his leukaemia.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

‘I applied for the pack, it came through - one of the easiest things I've ever done - and the rest is history,’ said Mr Jones.

‘I remember getting a phone call saying “well, you're a match” and I was like, “oh my god”.’

Mr Jones emphasised how easy the extraction of his stem cells was, saying: ‘I sat in the chair for five-and-a-half hours and essentially gave blood, such an easy process to go through.I had no ill effects, I was able to go back to work the next day without any problems whatsoever.’

He only suffered minor aches that were relieved by taking paracetamol.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Jones often wondered if the recipient of his stem cells was still alive after he donated - he was relieved to learn that after seven years in 2022, he was.

‘You know, I've actually spoken to the guy whose life I saved, and it's still very much weird,’ said Mr Jones.

Mr Godfrey-Davis said: ‘I would have probably been dead eight years ago but for people like Mark making donations, and I regret now that I myself didn't get the opportunity to be a stem cell donor because I certainly would have done.

‘I'm delighted to have been able to make Mark's sacrifice worthwhile by still being here today.’

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

DKMS (the German Bone Marrow Donor Centre) is an international charity that aims to fight against blood cancers and blood disorders, operating in countries including the United States, India, South Africa and the UK.

For more information on DKMS, visit:www.dkms.org.

News you can trust since 1877
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice