Kentucky woman meets Missouri priest whose stem cells saved her life

Published: 2006-06-22

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (CNS) -- Like all priests, Father Ken Riley's mission is to save souls. Thanks to a decision he made years ago, he also saved a life. Father Riley, pastor at St. Bernadette Parish in Kansas City, recently got to meet the woman he saved nearly three years ago by donating his adult stem cells. The surprise meeting with Lee Ann Collins happened during the Adair County (Ky.) Relay for Life rally June 9. Before that, the two had only spoken by phone. Meeting Collins face to face was "delightful," Father Riley told The Catholic Key, newspaper of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. Three years ago Collins had leukemia and her doctors were looking for stem-cell donors. Father Riley, already in the Heart of America Bone Marrow Registry's databank, was a potential match. In 1996, the priest donated bone marrow to an Indiana man, but the man died a few months later.

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