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India Jaz White was barely one when her doctor diagnosed her with severe aplastic anaemia, a medical condition where the body stops producing an adequate number of new blood cells to support bodily function. This condition only gets worse over time.
For India, her doctors immediately advised her to undergo a bone marrow transplant, before the condition became too severe.
The White family spent the next several months searching for a match and found one, in all places, Germany. A 34-year-old woman and complete stranger realized that she was a perfect match for India and agreed to donate bone marrow to save the little girl's life.
The two parties, however, were not allowed to meet before the surgery, or for another two years after the procedure.
It's been three years since India's successful bone marrow transplant.
Just recently, the White family was contacted through Twitter by a woman called Sindy. She was the stranger who had donated her bone marrow to save India's life and now that two years had passed, she wanted to finally meet the little girl whose life she saved.
Sindy and the White family agreed to meet on the exact day of India's fifth birthday, and the timing of it all couldn't have been more perfect.
India's mother recalled the beautiful moment, "It was the most amazing moment. India was holding a rose and ran straight to Sindy who had her arms out and they hugged. Sindy was crying and the tears were flowing from our family - it was so emotional."
Sindy had brought her family along on the trip to England, and the two families ended up spending the day together. Both India and Sindy's daughter, Nora, made teddy bears at a local Build-A-Bear Workshop, and everyone managed to work around the language barrier to fully enjoy the day.
Although Sindy and her family ultimately had to return to Germany, both families know that they will be "forever connected."
