A BRAVE Bidford-on-Avon schoolgirl who suffered from a rare form of leukaemia has met the selfless stranger who saved her life. 

Esme Clayson, aged seven, who was diagnosed with juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia when she was just three-years-old, recently met her donor Andreas Haber, a 30 year-old police officer from Berlin, Germany. 

When parents Naomi and Grant and brother Jack, were found to be unsuitable donors for Esme in 2011, doctors informed the family she would need a bone marrow transplant from a stranger to survive.

"I was completely devastated when she got diagnosed," Her mum, Naomi, said.

"It was devastating when we learned we weren’t matches. There was then a lot of fear – not knowing if anyone would be able to help us.”

The blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan found a matching donor- Mr Harber- and the transplant went ahead. 

Sadly, the first procedure was unsuccessful and Esme became dangerously ill, ending up in intensive care. 

Six months after the initial transplant, a second transplant from the same donor took place in May 2012, It was a success and Esme is now a happy, healthy child. 

Because donors and patients are not able to learn each other’s names for at least two years after a stem cell transplant, it wasn’t until last year that Esme and her family learnt the identity of her lifesaver.

The family exchanged messages and photographs and they agreed they would like to meet each other.

Andreas and his wife, Jule, aged 26, came to Warwickshire recently and spent a week with Esme and her family.

"Meeting Andreas was just amazing," Esme's mum, Naomi, added.

"It is difficult to describe in words exactly how it felt, but I can say it is wonderful to be able to thank him in person for what he has done for us; not just for saving Esme, but for saving our family. 

"Thanks to him we still have a daughter and Jack still has a sister, and for that we will be forever grateful."

"If it wasn't for his act of kindness I wouldn't like to think where we would be today. He is such a kind and warm-hearted person, he will always be our hero."

Mr Haber said: "It was no great effort for me to donate, but the result is great. 

"The first meeting with Esme and the Clayson family was an indescribably good feeling. Esme is my genetic twin and is a wonderful girl. I feel a special link to her."