A Quebec man who survived acute lymphocytic leukemia thanks to a stem cell transplant had the opportunity to get to know each other the one who saved his life, a young German with whom he became friends.
Alain Thivierge was able to personally thank his rescuer in January 2019 last summer, more than three years after receiving his stem cell donation. This is an unusual meeting because the law requires that donors and recipients remain anonymous.
However, the donor Tanja Höhne sent a letter to her recipient via Héma-Québec.
“My nurse told me she had never read anything so beautiful,” Mr. Thivierge recalls.
Alain Thivierge met Tanja Höhne – the one who saved his life – just over three years after receiving his stem cell donation. Photo provided by Alain Thivierge
Two years after the donation, Mr. Thivierge and Ms. Höhne were given the opportunity to reveal their identities, which they did without hesitation.
“In March 2021 I wrote to her on the internet, I found her thanks to Facebook. “We communicated once a week for a while,” he explains. Then she told me that she would come to Quebec in 2023 with her parents and her boyfriend.”
A unique link
The meeting eventually took place in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The moment was rich in emotions because without Ms. Höhne's gift, Mr. Thivierge would have had no chance of living. Because he didn't respond to chemotherapy treatments, a stem cell transplant was his last chance for a cure.
“It was pretty incredible,” Mr. Thivierge says. We hugged and spent a week with them in Toronto. It was very cool.”
During their stay, they notably attended a baseball game and a Peter Gabriel show, and also got tattoos to emphasize the bond that binds them. Mr. Thivierge, an amateur softball player, passed this passion on to his donor, who was unfamiliar with the sport.
Tanja and Alain had the same phrase tattooed on themselves: “Life is like a train – honey cake horse” to underline the bond between them. To maintain confidentiality, Tanja's signature in the letters exchanged with Alain was “Honey Cake Horse”. Photo provided by Alain Thivierge
“She saw girls playing softball [en Allemagne] and she visited them to play. She signed up and is now playing in a team,” says Mr Thivierge.
By telling this story, the survivor wants to honor the gesture of his good Samaritan, but also to raise awareness among Quebecers about the importance of stem cell donation. While health workers were confident that a donor would be found quickly, they were also confident that the donor would come from Europe.
“In Quebec there are not that many donations. In Germany they are very aware of it, it is very cultural and normal for them,” explains Mr. Thivierge.
Tanja and Alain had the same phrase tattooed on themselves: “Life is like a train – the lucky one” to underline the bond between them. The lucky thing was that Mr. Thivierge signed the letters exchanged with Tanja to maintain confidentiality. Photo provided by Alain Thivierge
A gesture of encouragement
Josée Larivée, spokesman for Héma-Québec, emphasizes that stem cell donation must actually become more popular here and also be carried out by Quebecers of all backgrounds in order to maximize the potential for compatibility.
The circle of donors is limited as only people between the ages of 18 and 35 can be entered into the register and the maximum age for a donation is 60 years. Ms. Larivée also encourages families to discuss the possibility of making such a donation.
“The idea is also for each community to highlight the importance of registration [au registre]because we are not homogeneous in Quebec,” she argues.
To enroll in the registry, you can do so here: https://www.hema-quebec.qc.ca/cellules-souches/donneur/inscription/etape1.fr.html
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