Today she is in the middle of life.
But as a young girl, Chloe Jarvis of Scotland suffered from leukemia.
A cure for her could only come from a bone marrow donation.
She received it from a man from Ansbach in Franconia.
Ansbach/London/Glasgow – Chloe Jarvis begins to cry.
Roland Häussler is also deeply touched.
It's February 19, 2013, and the then 13-year-old Scotsman and Frank meet at Westminster Church House in London.
The two were invited to the opening of the UK headquarters of DKMS.
Now enter the conference room.
The audience stands and applauds.
It's a moving encounter.
An exhausting time lies behind Jarvis.
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Emotional encounter: A good three years after the bone marrow donation, donor Roland Häussler from Ansbach in Franconia and patient Chloe Jarvis from Scotland meet for the first time.
© Geoff Caddick
Five years earlier, doctors had told the girl that she was suffering from myeloid leukemia, a particularly aggressive form of blood cancer.
She had to endure six chemotherapy treatments and countless stays at Yorkhill Hospital in Glasgow.
And now, for the first time, Jarvis meets the man who helped her heal with his bone marrow donation: Roland Häussler from Ansbach in Franconia.
"I am eternally grateful to him for being so generous to someone he didn't even know," says Jarvis, who has now grown into a young woman living her life.
Bone marrow donation from Franconia saves Scottish woman's life: now she lives every day to the fullest
Today, the Scotswoman completed her bachelor's degree in business management and has fully started her professional life.
She spends most of her time with her boyfriend Colin, the couple goes on vacation, eats out or goes to the cinema.
Jarvis lives in a house with her father and their cat Domino.
The 23-year-old sees the fact that she is doing so well after her leukemia as a great gift.
And she can also gain positive things from her illness in retrospect.
"Although it was the hardest time of my life, it also brought back some great memories and really made me who I am today," says Jarvis.
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Enjoying every day to the fullest: Chloe Jarvis is happy with her boyfriend Colin.
© DKMS
The young woman goes through life optimistic and euphoric because she herself felt how quickly life can end.
Life can be way too short to worry about things you can't control.
Researchers from the University of Milan, in an article in the journal Annals of Oncology, estimate that around 172,000 people in the UK will be diagnosed with cancer by 2023.
However, the scientists are also assuming a positive trend and are forecasting a decrease in the number of deaths from leukemia.
"As cliché as it sounds, you really should try to live every day to the fullest." The Scot knows she can do that thanks to her bone marrow donation.
"It gave me the chance to live the best possible life."
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After being diagnosed with leukemia: bone marrow donation for girls from Scotland only chance of a cure
Soon after her diagnosis, it became clear that the girl could only be cured with a bone marrow donation.
Jarvis' brother Ryan was not a suitable donor, so a worldwide search for an unrelated donor began.
Then the phone rang around 1400 km south-east of Glasgow, at Häussler in Ansbach.
The Franconian was registered with the DKMS.
And now she was telling him that his tissue might be compatible with that of a blood cancer patient in distress.
It still needs some investigations, in February 2009 the time had finally come.
Häussler donated a liter of bone marrow from the iliac crest at the Nuremberg Clinic.
Today, this form of bone marrow donation is only used in ten percent of cases.
The stem cells are usually taken from the periphery, i.e. in an outpatient procedure, which is comparable to a longer blood donation.
The Ansbacher had doubts about the general anesthesia.
"But I knew what I was doing it for." The decision to donate was easy for him.
After the bone marrow donation: Donor and patient may only contact each other anonymously for two years
In the weeks leading up to the operation, Häussler went to Egypt on a diving holiday.
Traveling is his passion.
He is particularly taken with the North African country, twice a year he moves there with his wife and friends.
"At that time I was particularly careful that nothing happened to me and that I stayed healthy," emphasizes the man from Ansbach.
"I now had this responsibility for a stranger."
Shortly after the operation, Häussler learned that his bone marrow donation would benefit a girl in Great Britain.
A girl from the town of Shotts, in North Lanarkshire, south-east of Glasgow.
For two years, donors and patients were only allowed to contact each other anonymously.
But Jarvis insisted on thanking her lifesaver.
And so touching news reached Bavaria
To my donor.
Thank you for going through so much pain I can't thank you enough you should be proud of yourself and I'm doing great now I'm so glad someone like you can help me.
Thanks again from the little girl you helped.”
Chloe Jarvis
The leukemia patient and her bone marrow donor: closely linked forever
After the anonymity lock was lifted, Chloe's father, Craig Jarvis, wrote to his daughter's savior via Facebook.
A close bond quickly developed between the families.
The two men now call each other "brothers".
To this day, the families regularly exchange information about what happened in their lives.
A lot has happened at Häussler.
The 63-year-old has been retired for two years.
He has been a grandfather of two since the end of 2022.
He takes care of the house and garden and spends a lot of time with his wife and two daughters.
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Hoping to see each other again soon: Chloe Jarvis (right) and her bone marrow donor Roland Häussler
© DKMS
Jarvis works as a commercial assistant and also works as a make-up artist.
The young woman hopes to be able to turn her hobby into a career one day.
And soon to see her bone marrow donor from Bavaria again.
A meeting in Scotland is being planned.
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Rubric list image: © Geoff Caddick
