Mechanic saves stranger's life across the globe

A SOUTH African man has given a stranger the ultimate gift of life, 6 500km away, on another continent and in an unknown country.

- WENDY JASSON DA COSTA

When East London mechanic Bradley Peters, 23, signed up to be a bone marrow donor last year, little did he know that this selfless act would make him the perfect match for a terminally ill patient in South America. Recounting his story this week, Peters told the Independent on Saturday that how it came about was nothing short of a miracle, “a weird story of coincidence”.

Peters worked at a garage when he met Robin Lewis, a stem cell transplant survivor and his wife, Jolandie, who had started an inter-continental stem cell recruitment drive. When Betsy their custom-made truck broke down they ended up at the garage where Peters was an apprentice mechanic.

"So there was a problem with his truck. They stayed for about two weeks and Robin told us what he was doing and that he was a survivor. Close to the last day, he asked us if we wanted to sign up. He didn’t need to tell me the whole story. I was just game,” said Peters.