Robin Roberts marks 12 years since 'GMA' return after stem cell transplant
Take the first step to sign up to become a bone marrow donor today. Visit www.nmdp.org/GMA50 to learn more about the registry.
"Good Morning America" co-anchor Robin Roberts is marking 12 years since she returned to the anchor desk after receiving a lifesaving stem cell transplant to treat myelodysplastic syndrome, or MDS, a rare blood disorder that affects the bone marrow.
Roberts still vividly remembers her long-awaited return to work in February 2013 and said her faith, family and friends played a large part in helping her get through her treatments and recovery.
Roberts' eldest sister Sally-Ann Roberts donated some of her stem cells to her, giving her the gift of life again.
"It was the easiest thing in the world to be a donor, and I'm just so amazed at your strength," her sister said back in 2013.
According to NMDP, formerly Be The Match, about 18,000 people each year are diagnosed with a disease that is best treated with a stem cell donation, and approximately 12,000 of them will likely need to turn to a registry like the NMDP to find an unrelated donor for the best chance at a cure.
Over the years, many have helped the cause, providing swab samples to potentially save a life, including students and staff at Roberts' alma mater Southeastern Louisiana University and staffers at ABC News stations nationwide.
They also include Roberts' nephew Jeremiah Craft, who first turned down the opportunity to be a donor as a teenager before changing his mind and jumping at a second chance to donate in 2024.
"What I'm doing here versus what this person is going through, it's just incomparable," Craft said at the time, ahead of his donation.
Roberts called Craft a "superhero" for helping to save a life.
"I'm trying to do the right thing for the second time," Craft added.
Another donor -- Katrice Randolph -- said she was motivated to become a stem cell donor because of a childhood friend whose sister had sickle cell disease, a type of red blood cell disorder.
"When I went to college, I saw the former Be the Match [now NMDP] table and I signed up," Randolph recalled on "GMA" Thursday. "Nine years later, I got a call about a little girl named Kelsey -- I love her so much and she [is] the same age as my sister -- and it was literally like, I have to do this because if this was my sister, I would want somebody to do this for me so it was an easy yes."
"The process was amazing and I would do it again," Randolph continued.
Randolph was surprised on "GMA" Thursday when she had the opportunity to meet Kelsey for the first time with her mother Ebony Farris, who said meeting Randolph was "amazing."
"Oh, my goodness, it restores faith in humanity to do something so selfless for a stranger," Farris said of what Randolph did for her daughter.
Swab samples offer hope for people like Joshua Biyoyouwei, who also has sickle cell disease.
"I'm praying and hoping that Joshua will find his match. And I just want people to go out and get their cheeks swabbed," Joshua's mother Vera Johnson said. "Just do it on behalf of Joshua or on behalf of any children like him that needs a bone marrow transplant."
