Jeremiah Craft, nephew of “Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts, recently donated his stem cells to save the life of a stranger. Craft’s mother, Sally-Ann Roberts, had previously donated her bone marrow to save her sister Robin’s life in 2012. Recognizing the critical need for donors, Sally-Ann convinced Craft, now 29, to sign up for the registry. After receiving a call that he was a match for a stranger, Craft initially declined to participate but later regretted his decision. In January, he received another call informing him that he was once again a match. Craft underwent five days of injections to stimulate his blood stem cells and then traveled from New York City to Houston in March to complete his donation.
The NMDP, a nonprofit organization that manages a global marrow registry, states that 70% of patients in need of a bone marrow transplant do not have a fully-matched family donor. This highlights the importance of finding donors from the registry. Craft’s donation was done through peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) donation, a non-surgical procedure where blood is drawn, the stem cells are separated, and the remaining blood is returned to the donor. The entire process took around five hours for Craft, but donation times can vary. The NMDP covers travel expenses and any non-medical costs for donors and also provides financial assistance for medical expenses not covered by insurance.
Craft’s decision to donate his stem cells has been praised by his family, who described him as a “superhero.” Craft himself expressed gratitude for the second chance to save a life and emphasized the importance of doing the right thing. “I’m just grateful to God that I can go from pretending to be a hero to growing older, learning what is important and actually saving a life,” he said. The story of Craft and his family serves as a reminder of the critical need for bone marrow donors and the potential impact that a single donation can have in saving a life.
If you are interested in becoming a bone marrow donor, you can visit my.nmdp.org/gma or text GMA to 61474 to request a swab kit. Both PBSC donation and bone marrow donation are lifesaving procedures, and donors can make a significant difference in the lives of individuals in need of a transplant.
