SLATINGTON, Pa. — A Lehigh Valley woman recently met her real-life hero, who traveled from another continent to meet her.
Slatington native Sherry Hanley is a stem cell recipient who has been corresponding with her German donor for nearly nine years.
“My donor is coming from Germany to meet me," Hanley said. "This is a selfless young man who saved my life, and he’s my hero."
In 2015, while working as a deputy sheriff for Lehigh County, Hanley said she noticed a pinkish blotch on her skin, but she chalked it up to exposure to a staph infection from her work at the Lehigh County Prison. A few days later, she passed out at work and was taken to St. Luke’s University Health Network where oncologist Dr. Yacoub Faroun told her she had leukemia.
“Dr. Faroun was so personal and compassionate,” said Hanley, who was hospitalized in the Cancer Unit at St. Luke’s Bethlehem Campus for 40 days while undergoing chemotherapy.
“Dr. Faroun and his staff were wonderful. They did whatever was necessary. They gave me six months to live if I didn’t have a donor.”
That’s where Hendrik Gericks, of Germany, stepped in. Not knowing who he was saving, Gericks signed up for and donated to NMDP, formerly known as the National Marrow Donor Program and Be The Match.
NMDP is a global nonprofit working to save lives through stem cell therapies and connect donors to recipients.
How to donate
Those interested in donating stem cells can do so in one of two ways; The first is through a lengthy blood draw that collects peripheral blood stem cells. The other is through a procedure that takes bone marrow from the back of the pelvic bone while the patient is under anesthesia.
Most donors must be between the ages of 18 and 35 years old, with the remainder being under 40. NMDP states that younger stem cells work better as they enter the bloodstream to create new healthy stem cells.
According to their website, “Blood stem cells are immature cells found in the bone marrow and circulating (peripheral) blood. They can self-renew, meaning they can divide to produce more stem cells, and they also have the amazing ability to develop into red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.”
Treatment and recovery
While undergoing treatment at St. Luke’s, Hanley was connected to NMDP and matched with Gericks. She then received a stem cell transplant under the care of Dr. Faroun.
“I was given six months to live and now I’m approaching nine years since my diagnosis,” Hanley said. “If it wasn't for St Luke’s Cancer Unit and Dr. Faroun helping me get to the level of transplant, I wouldn’t have known about the change of stem cells and Be The Match.”
NMDP matches people anonymously. Hanley and Gericks had to wait two years before learning each others’ identities. The two tried to meet in 2020, but had to call off the meeting due to the COVID pandemic. Hanley finally got the chance to thank her donor in person when he came to visit the Lehigh Valley with his wife at the end of August.
