(Courtesy of Gift of Life) A young Dallas man finally met the New Jersey woman whose life he saved with a stem cell donation through the Gift of Life Marrow Registry, during last week’s Gift of Life’s Young Professionals Committee’s Celebrating Life event at the Edison Ballroom.

The donor, Noah Starr, 23, of Dallas, Texas, embraced his recipient, Michelle Sion, 56, of Springfield, who was diagnosed in July 2017 with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, in a highly emotional meeting at the event.

“This was one of the most emotional moments I’ve ever had in my life,” said Starr. “You can’t really describe it. This is truly a unique bond we now share.”

Since receiving her transplant in 2018, Noah had “been on my mind for over a year now,” said Sion. “It was such a thrill to meet him. He saved my life. He’s my hero.”

Starr, who works in finance in Dallas, joined the registry on a Birthright Israel trip a few years ago. At that time, he was told the chances of being a match were very low, so he did not expect he’d ever be called.

By law the pair had to remain anonymous for at least a year post-transplant.

Gift of Life’s “Celebrating Life,” which took place on February 21, also honored Claudia Oshry, who helped raise awareness about Gift of Life through her star social media persona @GirlWithNoJob, and Izzy Sakhaie, for her work as a Gift of Life advocate and volunteer.

The Boca Raton, Florida-based Gift of Life is dedicated to saving lives and facilitating bone marrow and blood stem cell transplants for patients with leukemia, lymphoma and other blood-related diseases. Since its start in 1991, Gift of Life has grown the registry to more than 310,000 individuals who have volunteered to donate blood stem cells or bone marrow to save a life. In the process, Gift of Life has facilitated over 15,000 matches for those with a range of blood cancers, resulting in more than 3,300 transplants.

For more details about Gift of Life, please contact Joe Berkofsky, at [email protected].