The young couple from the town of Wabern, Germany now has a family in USA. Max Korell (25 years old) has saved the life of Tom Helbling from Seattle Washington (71 years old). Max donated some of his Stem Cells to Tom. As a result Tom recovered from his blood cancer and was able to visit Max Korell and his girlfriend in person.

~by Claudia Brandau, Wabern, Germany

 

Blood Brothers

This actual news article is named: They are now Blood Brothers since Max Korell saved the life of the Leukemia stricken Tom Helbling from America. Tom is a member of the C3 Leaders Forum, a group of active and retired Christian business leaders that meets in my living room every Wednesday morning.

Tom and his wife from the West Coast of America have tried to imagine for two years the circumstances of the man who donated the needed stem cells, especially since it was a perfect match. Now they know the donor. The 71 year old Tom has met Max Korell this week. This 23-year-old from Wabern was the donor to help Tom to recover from Leukemia, a cancer of the blood.

It has been about three years since Max Korell participated in a Stem Cell registration event in Gudensburg, Germany. A few months later he received a letter from the same organization informing him that he was a perfect stem cell match for a Leukemia cancer patient in America. Max was told no personal information. The only thing Max knew at this point was that he wanted to help this patient.

Together with his girlfriend, Max went for a preliminary physical to Dresden and later made there the actual stem cell donation. This was done without pain and without surgery. With this method a blood draw was taken and the actual stem cells were filtered out of his blood. The procedure took three hours and the couple was able to return to Wabern.

Meanwhile Tom Helbling underwent a variety of Chemo Therapy and radiation and his recovery expectation called for a Stem Cell Transplant. It was a matter of life and death. Since his team of doctors had located the perfect stem cell match in Germany, a special carrier brought Max Korell’s donation from Dresden to Seattle to be given to the then 68-year-old Tom, who was fighting for his life at this point.

“We are so extremely grateful for Max’s donation. He saved my husband’s life”, said Judy Helbling.

Tom’s diagnosis and long term health prognosis changed drastically after the transplant. After a 100-day waiting period and many tests, it was determined by his doctors that the new stem cells had overcome the old ones. “We are so thankful to Max,” said his wife Judy during their visit in Wabern.

There was no question for the American couple that they would want to meet the donor as soon as possible. There is a 2-year waiting period until the full identity of the donor and the recipient are made known to each other. The Helblings then contacted Max Korell and expressed their hope to meet him in person.

The banker from Wabern was very excited about this prospect. “When they both entered our home for the first time, it was like we knew each other for ever,” said Max.

“I am now three times German,” said Tom since both of his parent’s families came from Germany.

The Helblings have invited the young couple from Wabern to come and visit in Seattle. Their visit will be a good reason for a big family celebration. Logical, since Max is now a blood relative in his American Family.

This article was published in the local Wabern, Germany, newspaper 30 September 2017

Posted in Perspective by permission of Mr. Tom Helbling

 

In the USA: Are you between the ages of 18-44? Have you considered participating in Stem Cell registration? You could be someone’s perfect match. Vislt: http://www.bethematch.org/ for more information.