AN AMMAN Valley woman has given the greatest gift of all this Christmas – to a complete stranger she will never meet.

Lowri Williams, of Neuadd Road, Garnant, offered a middle-aged man a fighting chance of life when she donated her bone marrow to the leukaemia sufferer whose name she will likely never know.

Lowri, aged 24, was a one-in-27million match for the man – meaning she was one of only two people in the UK who could make the life-saving donation.

Doctors have told the Tata Steel worker that thanks to her, the man now has a 65 per cent chance of survival. Without Lowri’s bone marrow his chances were zero.

“I was with my mother at the hospital when theyn gave me the statistics,” said Lowri. “We both filled up with tears.

“The moment I heard that I knew I could never turn him down.”

Lowri, a regular blood donor, signed up for the bone marrow scheme during a visit by the Welsh Blood Service to her work.

“The service comes to work every six months or so,” she said, “and the company encourages everyone to give blood.

“A couple of years ago I decided to add myself to the bone marrow list.”

With the odds of finding a match so slim, many people on the donors' list can go a lifetime without ever being called, for Lowri it took two years.

“I received a message in August, asking me to contact the service because they thought I might be a possible match,” she told the South Wales Guardian.

“I went in and had some tests done and then in October I was told I was a match and had been chosen as a donor.

“Even then it was still my choice, but I thought to myself: “'Go for it”'.”

Last week, Lowri was at a private hospital in Newport where she spent almost six hours donating her marrow.

“It was no different from donating blood,” she said, “only it took a lot longer.

“I was a bit tired afterwards but I was absolute fine again inside 48 hours and was back in work on Monday.

“Luckily, I was able to donate far more than was needed so if this gentleman needs a top up in a year or two, they have some ready and waiting for him.”

Lowri’s life-saving gift has brought home to her the importance of making yourself available as a donor.

“It feels a bit weird, but I know I have done something incredible,” she said.

“There are so many people who die just because there are not enough blood donors who have ticked the bone marrow box when they give blood. I would urge everyone to tick that box – you may never be needed but if and when you are you’ll be saving someone's life.”