Twins born with deadly disorder meet woman who gave them life-saving bone marrow transplant
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A pair of 3-year-old identical twin sisters in Canada on Wednesday got the chance to meet the woman who saved their lives with a bone marrow transplant after the girls were born with a life-threatening genetic blood disorder.
Zoey and Zayne Espayos were born with alpha thalassemia (hydrops fetalis), which renders red blood cells incapable of producing hemoglobin, a protein that carries oxygen to cells throughout the body, according to a news release.
The Espayos twins underwent a blood transfusion in utero as well as after birth, and received a bone marrow transplant from their older sister Zoey— a donation their bodies rejected.
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The twins’ parents, Reina and Mark Espayos, found a match for the girls through DKMS, a nonprofit that recruits bone marrow donors and raises funds to match donor registration costs.
DKMS identified Orange, County, California, resident Judiel Ennis as a perfect bone marrow match for the twins. She hopped on a plane to Pennsylvania, where her bone marrow was extracted in a surgery that lasted less than one hour.
Ennis helped save their lives, and the feat marked the first time identical twins were cured of alpha thalassemia through a bone marrow transplant, according to the release.
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On Wednesday, the Espayos family flew to Lake Forest, California, to meet Ennis in person.
“I don’t feel like anyone should be thanking me,” Ennis told the Orange County Register. “What I did was what I hope anyone else would do. All it takes is a swab to save a life, and in my case I got to save two.”
But Reina insisted her gift was important.
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“She’s the second mom now,” said Reina, according to the release. “She gave life to my daughters.”
According to DKMS, 30 percent of patients with blood disorders are able to find a matching donor in their families, but 70 percent must rely on donations from strangers.