LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A selfless act gave a Kentucky man with blood cancer a second chance at life.
"At the time it didn't seem like anything more than holding the door open for someone, or picking up a piece of litter outside..." Drew Kozman said. "Just something little that I could do to help somebody else."
When Kozman joined the bone marrow registry, he never really thought he'd be a match. But just a few months later, the University of Texas student was given an opportunity he simply couldn't refuse... the opportunity to save a life.
"To be able to give somebody a chance at a new life is worth it, because you have to think about what you would want someone else to do for you," Kozman said.
For Kozman's match, Chris Lyons, this meant a second chance. Lyons lives in Waddy, Kentucky. A couple of years ago, he was battling leukemia and needed a bone marrow transplant.
"I didn't really know what to do," Lyons said. "It was just... I was kind of feeling hopeless."
Thanks to Kozman's donation, the transplant was a success. Now Lyons spends his time raising awareness about the registry that saved his life.
"You are really making an impact in someone's life and giving them a chance to live on," Lyons said.
Anyone between the ages of 18 and 40 and in good health can be added to the bone marrow donor registry. It all starts with a simple cheek swab to see if you're a match.
"We know that everyone has a genetic twin out there when it comes to their HLA type, they're just not in the registry," Linda Alexander with Be The Match said.
If you are a match, the donation procedure isn't invasive or painful and surgery isn't even required in most cases.
"Eighty percent of the time it's blood stem cells that are donated through peripheral blood — so similar to donating blood," Alexander said.
The process is entirely anonymous, but Kozman and Lyons wanted to connect. The two finally met in person last month.
"It really kind of processed and hit me of he's standing there because of my donation," Kozman said. "It's not a little thing that I did anymore. The full gravity of the situation started to hit finally me."
A special moment for the two men, who are now forever bonded by blood.
"I say now that I have a brother lives in Texas," Lyons said.
If you're interested in learning more about joining the bone marrow registry, click here.
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