NH man finally meets German donor who saved his life

(NECN: Lauren Collins) - It's a special thing, getting to thank the person who saved your life.

It makes the world a smaller place, especially when the person who saved your life lives thousands of miles away.

"They would never meet, probably would never have anything in common and now they're genetic twins, so it's really like witnessing a miracle," says Katharina Harf of Delete Blood Cancer.

Korey Pierce is a volunteer firefighter from Ashland, N.H. who was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a bone marrow failure disorder, several years ago,

Fabian Kaempf is a 20something from Germany who signed up for the Delete Blood Cancer DKMS Bone Marrow Registry around the same time. The two were a match, and the successful transplant surgery happened in 2008, but they never met in person until now.

"I can't describe this feeling for anyone who's never felt this way," Kaempf said.

There seemed to be a lot of that in downtown Plymouth Wednesday, as Fabian was embraced by Korey's fiancee Amy and by his extended circle of friends, family and fellow firefighters.

On Saturday, Fabian will attend Korey and Amy's wedding.

Korey had run through all of his other options when Fabian turned up as a match.

"Ultimately it would have very likely been a fatal disease," Dr. John Hill of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center said.

"Korey may not have been here were it not for Fabian, so we're very, very delighted that he'll be here with us," Amy said.

These guys, who have bonded over Facebook in the last two years, look like they could be brothers - and they feel like it, too.

"For me, he's like a brother even if I don't know him, or not for a long time," Fabian said.

"I talk to him more than I do with any of my other friends," Korey said.

Like brothers, they are linked for life, and Korey, who signed up as a volunteer firefighter for the rush of fighting fires, has a new purpose.

"Now I really look towards helping people," he said.