A Life Saved

Hope in the Face of Tragedy

Jurgen Kansog considers himself living proof that terrorists did not win on September 11, 2001.

Last September, Jurgen Kansog, a New Jersey resident, was eagerly awaiting the arrival of his life-saving blood stem cells when the terrorist attacks on the United States forced the shutdown of commercial airspace.

In preparation for the stem cell transplant, Jurgen, who was suffering from leukemia, underwent intensive chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Without the delivery of the stem cells for his transplant, Jurgen would most likely die.

Jurgen's stem cells were scheduled to arrive from Germany on Sept. 14. The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) uses trained volunteer couriers to deliver marrow and blood stem cells to patients on commercial airplanes. To give patients the best chance for recovery, the cells must arrive within 48 hours of collection.

For Jurgen this transplant was his last chance at life. His first transplant (from another donor's stem cells) had failed and he almost died in July 2001. He was one of several patients anxiously waiting for stem cells when commercial airspace was shut down. For U.S. patients waiting for stem cells from U.S. donors, the NMDP was able to deliver stem cells by car. However, because stem cells stay alive for only a limited time after being collected from a donor, air travel was the only way to deliver stem cells from overseas.

In the days following the terrorist attacks, NMDP staff, The Marrow Foundation^®, NMDP Network Centers and international partners worked furiously to find a way to get stem cells from U.S. donors to patients waiting in other countries and from international donors to patients in the United States. Saving patients who were counting on the NMDP was a source of hope and defiance in the face of tragedy.

"Our nation suffered a tremendous loss last September. In the face of the worst tragedy in American history, we were determined not to let this act of terror contribute to additional loss of life. Jurgen is the living proof of that," said Jeffrey W. Chell, M.D., NMDP chief executive officer.

To deliver the stem cells to Jurgen and the other patients on time, with the support of The Marrow Foundation, the NMDP secured lifeguard status from the FAA for a flight and chartered a private jet. Jurgen's stem cells and those of other patients were delivered on time.

Today, with his successful transplant, Jurgen is well on his way to recovery. He has even had a chance to thank the stem cell donor who saved his life. September 8, 2002, surrounded by friends and family in the New Jersey community where he lives, Jurgen met his donor, Bruno Etzel, a master electrician from a small town near Frankfurt, Germany.