“This person saved my life”

Minister Dominic LeBlanc finally meets the young German who donated stem cells to him

Joel-Denis Bellavance
The Press

(Ottawa) Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc has met his share of influential people in his time in politics – Queen Elizabeth II, former French President Jacques Chirac, Pope John Paul II, former South African President Nelson Mandela and former United States President Bill Clinton, among others.

But at 54, he was rather burning to meet a German in his twenties who, just a few months ago, was a complete stranger. Because this young man from Bad Herfeld, Jonathan Kehl, snatched him from the death row in which fate had pushed him a few months earlier.

From the day Moncton doctors told him in the spring of 2019 that he had a rare case of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system, Dominic LeBlanc knew he was in a race against time. . His survival depended on two conditions: his body had to react well to chemotherapy treatments and a donor with compatible stem cells had to be found. Her younger sister was not a compatible candidate.

“At 51, I faced my own mortality,” dropped the Acadian minister, all moved, during an interview of about forty minutes granted to The Press Tuesday at his office on Parliament Hill.

After weeks of preparation, Mr. Kehl arrived in Ottawa on Sunday to meet in person with Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who is now in good shape.

Mr. Kehl is studying at university to become a teacher. He takes advantage of a week off to spend a few days with the man who has become his genetic twin thanks to advances in regenerative medicine.

“When I saw him Sunday night at the airport, I didn’t shake his hand. I gave him a long hug. This person saved my life. Without him, I wouldn’t have seen the fall colors in 2019,” says Mr. LeBlanc, sitting next to his new lifelong friend, despite the 30 years that separate them.

“It was a defining experience for me. Not many people have the opportunity to save someone’s life like that. And I had the opportunity to do it, ”said Jonathan Kehl.

The protocol surrounding these major operations is that a patient must wait two years before knowing the identity of the person who gave him his life. But the donor must first give his consent.

Last November, Mr. LeBlanc received an email from Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital in Montreal revealing the identity and contact information of Jonathan Kehl. Their first conversation took place in December by videoconference. Dominic LeBlanc immediately invited him to visit him in Canada.

In Germany, the donor registry is well established. All are encouraged to donate a sample of their DNA to increase the chances of finding a compatible donor.

Jonathan Kehl decided to participate in the program when he was in high school, spitting some saliva into a small potty.

10 out of 10 compatibility

When Hema-Quebec launched an extensive search to find a compatible donor, the profile of the young German appeared on the computer screen in August.

“The compatibility level was 10 out of 10, including blood type. It happens to one in 20,000 people. In my case, it was like winning the lottery. It was my emergency exit from a very dangerous illness that I had, ”said Mr. LeBlanc, who made a point of saluting in broad strokes the treatments that Dr.^D Sylvie Lachance and the nursing staff at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital.

The delicate operation took place in September 2019. The federal elections were then in full swing. Mr. LeBlanc was running for office, but he was unable to campaign. He stayed in an isolation room at the hospital for 58 days. He was re-elected without difficulty.

Mr. LeBlanc reserved quasi-royal treatment for his guest. On Monday, they toured Parliament Hill and met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for about 20 minutes at his office. They had a bite to eat with the German ambassador in Ottawa on Tuesday evening.

“When I met the Prime Minister, he thanked me for saving the life of his childhood friend. I felt that it came from the heart, ”said Mr. Kehl, still taking full measure of the gesture he had made three years ago.

Wednesday evening, they headed for Montreal for dinner. Thursday, they will go to the Miramichi region of New Brunswick for a fishing trip. Mr. LeBlanc will host his guest at his home for a final meal on Friday evening in Moncton before Mr. Kehl flies back to Germany on Saturday.

During German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit to Canada in August, Mr. LeBlanc told him his story. “I told him: I am the only Canadian minister in the cabinet who has 100% German blood,” he said, provoking bursts of laughter from the German leader.