As a Cobb County firefighter, Neal Brasfield has been saving lives for almost 20 years. Two years ago, the roles were reversed when he suddenly found himself needing a life-saver.
Diagnosed with leukemia, Brasfield desperately needed a bone marrow donor match. A perfect bone marrow match was found more than 2,000 miles away in Justin Hill, a 21-year-old political science major from California.
On a recent evening, the two met for the first time at a special Northside Hospital blood and bone marrow transplant program reunion event held at the Georgia Aquarium.
Tearfully, Brasfield, 55, embraced Hill.
“I gave him the hardest hug,” Brasfield said. “I have been waiting for this day for a long time. He was the nicest person, so happy.”
Brasfield and Hill met at a special ceremony for more than 225 people at Northside Hospital who have been successfully matched with a bone marrow or cord blood donor. The Health Resources & Service Administration estimates that nearly 20,000 people in the United States need a bone marrow or cord blood transplant each year to treat life-threatening illnesses such as leukemia or lymphoma.
On a Sunday in December 2014, Brasfield of Canton received a surprising phone call from his doctor just two days after completing a yearly physical. Brasfield’s lab results showed his white blood cell count was extremely low. After a second blood test revealed no change, Brasfield went to see an oncologist for a bone marrow biopsy.
Two days later, Brasfield learned that he had acute myeloid leukemia. When he started chemotherapy treatment, his firehouse family stepped in, and in a show of support, they donated blood and also gave him their leave time so he wouldn't have to go on disability (allowing him to continue receiving his full salary). Meanwhile, his doctors scoured the "Be the Match" database for a donor match. They found Hill just a few months later in February 2015.
Hill, a student at Whittier College, is familiar with donating blood — it's something he's volunteered for regularly since he was 16. Two years ago, the college student decided to take that commitment a step further by getting involved with the "Be the Match" foundation. By offering a cheek swab on site at a college booth, he donated his DNA samples to a national database, allowing patients from across the country to compare DNA in hopes of discovering a match — and a chance to beat cancer.
Hill was told that matches are rare and not to get his hopes up, but within months, he received news that he was a suitable match for Brasfield. Follow-up testing determined he was a perfect match with all 10 out of 10 genetic markers matching up.
The bone marrow transplant took place in March 2015. On the day of his donation, Hill sat with needles in his arm for about eight hours to draw enough platelets for Brasfield. The procedure took place in California, and the bone marrow was flown to Georgia on a special flight.
"It was the smallest moment of my life," he said. "I spent in total 11 days in a hospital doing tests, learning to self-inject (medication), being a donor. Yes, it was slightly painful and there was slight discomfort, but for me, the sacrifice is so small to save someone's life. I would encourage anyone who is on the fence to take a leap of faith. Meeting Neal and his family, and knowing it could have been a different story, is so gratifying."
Within about five months of receiving the bone marrow donation, Brasfield returned to his job as a firefighter. And while he suffers from side effects such as dry eyes and fatigue, you won’t hear him complaining.
“I don’t feel right to complain,” he said in a recent interview. “I am happy to be alive. Every morning you wake up and you see the sun is shining, you feel blessed. Blessed to see the sun come up, the smiling faces of your grandchildren, to be able to take your dog for a walk and do all of the things you are allowed to do. This past summer, I went swimming in the Gulf of Mexico in Destin.”
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