Black South Carolina Man Learns Bone Marrow Donor He Befriended Two Years Ago Is White

Frank Wise of Seneca, SC, has communicated with the Rev. Donald Kuntz of Creston, OH, for two years. They've referred to themselves as "blood brothers" ever since Wise received bone marrow from Kuntz in 1999. But, in spite of their unique bond, the one thing Wise never knew about Kuntz is that Kuntz is White.

"My understanding from all of my physicians was that my donor had to be African-American as well," explains Wise, 46, a former executive director of the Anderson-Oconee Council on Aging. "I was under the impression it was the only organ transplant that could not cross over ... We send letters and cards to each other on holidays. He even sent me a card for Kwanza. That really threw me for a loop once I found out."

Not that Kuntz's race has made much of a difference, Wise quickly clarifies.

"That confirmed the Lord has no respect of persons. It proves and shows we're all one," he says. "I wouldn't have cared if my donor was blue or green because [the bone marrow] had the chance of giving me that hope. I wanted to be around a bit longer, so it did not matter about his race because my life was in front of me. I felt like it was things yet to be done."

Wise learned of Kuntz's race a couple of month's ago when a reporter for the Akron Beacon Journal called during Black History Month to get his response to being one of the few people to have successfully undergone a bone marrow transplant from a White donor.

Kuntz, on the other hand, knew of Wise's race nearly a year ago when Wise sent him a mosaic of pictures.

"I was a little bit surprised at first because in terms of organ donation, they tend to make a big deal about pigmentation in skin," says Kuntz, 40, who pastors at Creston United Methodist and Canaan United Methodist, both in Creston. "Later I didn't think twice about it. I think it's wonderful that our bodies have more in common than are different. I was glad to be there for Frank."

Finding a match between the races isn't common, reveals Dr. Clive O. Callender, a noted transplant surgeon who is chairman of the Department of Surgery at Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, D.C.

"It is somewhat rare today for a Black person to receive a bone marrow transplant from a White person. However, it can occur if a White person's genetic makeup is somewhat similar to a Black person," says Dr. Callender.

Kuntz's close genetic makeup is precisely what Wise needed. A bone marrow transplant was Wise's "last hope" in handling his leukemia. A sibling donor or a donor of the same race would make greater matches, he was told.

Bad news came when Willie Bernard Wise, his only brother, was not a match. But, in December of 1998, a near-perfect match--"as close as it could get without being a sibling"--was found.

The marrow belonged to Kuntz, who had been on the bone marrow donor registry since 1986.

Wise underwent a successful transplant in February of 1999. Since then, his leukemia has gone into remission.

Rosemary Wise, Frank's wife of 25 years, a secondary school counselor in the Oconee County School District, says that the transplant "reaffirms that all things are handled through God. It goes to prove that we are all one."

She recalls that her husband received a letter, attached with the marrow, from Kuntz. It was addressed "Dear Anonymous Friend" and included the scripture Isaiah 40:29-31.

"I'm a very strong believer in a higher being ... I had gone to a cross-stitch shop and bought one with the same verse of Isaiah. When the letter came with the exact same scripture, I knew it was special," she says.

The two men look forward to the day when they will meet each other face-to-face.

Both agree they'll be a part of each other's lives for the rest of their lives.

"We share a spiritual connection through faith and a blood connection through the donation," says Kuntz.

Notes Wise, "The Lord has been in this from the beginning."