Donor Gets To Meet Recipient

While shoppers are busy combing through the stores in search for the perfect gift for their love ones, Julio Garcia will know he has already given a very special gift -- to a total stranger.

Last year, Garcia, gave the precious gift of life to someone he didn't know when he donated his marrow to save the life of a man suffering from leukemia.

Last week, Garcia traveled to Germany to meet his recipient at a Christmas gala hosted by tenor Jose Carreras and the Jose Carreras International Leukemia Foundation.

"I was given a unique opportunity to save someone's life and give him hope," Garcia said. "I knew that his was my recipient's only chance for a cure and survival," he added.

The Florida man is one of thousand of individuals on the National Marrow Donor Program Registry, (NMDP).

For more information about the NMDP, call (800) MARROW-2, or visit their Web site at The National Marrow Donor Program.

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