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Toddler Who Beat Cancer Meets the 24 Strangers Who Saved Her Life

This incredible photo tells a story that shows how wonderful our world really can be. It’s a story of 24 strangers who came together and saved the life of a baby girl they’d never even met.

When you give blood, you don’t often imagine meeting the person who needs your donation. But 24 donors in the US got to meet the one little toddler who is alive today, thanks to their one simple and selfless act.

The first two years of Skye Savren-McCormick’s little life have been tough. At just four months old the tiny tot had her first blood and platelet transfusion.

‘Life in a bag’

Skye’s parents, Kevin and Talia Savren-McCormick, noticed suspicious red spots covering her skin and asked their doctor to check it out. Blood tests revealed she had a platelet count of only 3,000. Just two percent of the usual 150,000 to 400,000 she should have had!

Mum Talia told TODAY, that without blood transfusions, their daughter would have died: “We used to call it life in a bag. It definitely brought her back to life.”

YouTube video

Everyday Heroes

In March 2016, after more tests and just before Skye’s first birthday, the family received a devastating diagnosis. Baby Skye had a rare blood cancer,  juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML). She was given just a 10 per cent chance of survival.

As well as more blood transfusions and chemotherapy, Skye needed three bone marrow transplants to treat the disease. The little fighter, nicknamed “Warrior Skye” by the nurses, received 77 units of blood in total from 71 different donors.

Twenty-four of the these life-saving legends got to meet the Savren-McCormick family, at an emotional gathering at UCLA Mattel Children’s HospitalTalia gave a tearful speech, thanking the donors for saving their daughters life, saying they were simply overwhelmed by the generosity.

Skye Savren-McCormick toddler cancer survivor
Reed Hutchinson/UCLA Health

“You helped save my daughter’s life,” she told them. “Skye’s heart pumps a little part of you.”

The donors ranged in age from 20 to 66 years old and came a range of different backgrounds, including a college student and an app builder.

Give Blood, Save a Life

In April, Kevin and Talia are hoping to celebrate a year of their daughter being cancer free. There are plans for her to start preschool – a milestone her parents never dared to dream about before Skye’s heroes came into her life..

According to the Australian Red Cross Blood Service, one third of blood donations help people with cancer and every blood donation made can help save three lives.

Spokesman Shaun Inguanzo says the Blood Service always needs more donors. “O-negative is the universal type given to patients in emergency situations,” he says.

“With one in three of us needing donated blood in our lifetime the life you save could be that of a friend or family member.”

For more inspirational stories, take a look at the twin who acted as surrogate for her cancer-survivor sister.

Avatar of Sarah Long

Originally from the UK, but now very much at home on the sunny NSW Central Coast, Sarah is mum to 18-month-old Freddy. When she's not writing, you'll find her at the beach, chasing Freddy at high speed, or drinking tea and eating cake whilst thinking about going to the gym.

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