Talk about a lifesaver.
Passengers on a United Airlines flight were were surprised when the pilot left the cockpit shortly before takeoff to call out a passenger — for a heartwarming reason.
The unnamed crew member walked back into the cabin to give a big hug to a woman he explained to those gathered around had been his bone marrow donor.
Everyone clapped as they learned the story, which is when passenger Laura LoGiudice began to record the heartwarming interaction.
The two beamed as they quickly reconnected before the flight took off from George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on Dec. 14.
The pilot shared that he’s now “doing fantastic” and then turned around to tell those around him the amazing story.
“This young lady saved my life,” the pilot announced to his crew and passengers.
He went on to explain that the woman was a closer donor match than even his brother.
The pilot declared the woman a “true hero” and hugged her once more as onlookers applauded the pair.
A bone marrow transplant is a complex life-saving treatment that involves a long recovery process.
Also known as a stem-cell transplant, a bone marrow transplant, can be used to treat certain cancers and other disorders affecting blood cells.
Damaged or diseased stem cells are destroyed and replaced with healthy blood-forming cells collected from a donor with human leukocyte antigens (HLA) genes similar enough to the recipient’s.
Twenty percent of donor transplants are between relatives and 14 percent of donor transplants between unrelated people completed in 2020 were bone marrow transplants, according to the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration.
Anyone can volunteer to be a donor but must meet certain health requirements to be approved.
