“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I’m so happy. Every time I think about it, I’m almost in tears.” This was a day before meeting an 18-year-old named Lamar Adams. McFadden saved Adams’ life, or as McFadden says, extended it, by donating his blood stem cells.
McFadden signed up five years ago at a recruitment drive at James Madison High School of Excellence. A friend’s son had leukemia, but McFadden wasn’t a match. Then, in late fall 2003 and more than 300 miles away in the Bronx, Adams went for a physical so he could play high school basketball and was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia. Under program rules, donor and recipient must remain anonymous for at least a year. McFadden said he thought about it every day, then started making inquiries when the year was up. Story…
