Stem cell transplant saves life of Bourbonnais toddler with leukemia

CHICAGO (WLS) -- After a Bourbonnais boy was diagnosed with leukemia at just 5 months old, a stranger stepped in with a life-saving donation.

Mads Pomranky, now 2, needed a stem cell transplant to survive, and an 18-year-old nursing student from Ohio was a match.

The two families recently met.

Jennifer and Derrick Pomranky, Mads' parents, and donor Kaelynn Speed joined ABC7 Chicago Monday to talk about the experience.

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Speed said she was in the midst of her first college finals when she found out she was a match, and she was so glad to help the little boy.

Now, Mads is a rambunctious toddler, his parents said.

Olivia Haddox, a donor recruitment coordinator for DKMS, also talked about what's involved in stem cell donation.

For more information on stem cell registration, visit dkms.org.