“I could DI3 instead of Roberts” – the statement from GMA host Robin Roberts’ Sister that left everyone speechless – Heartfelt confession of Great sacrifice to SAVE her little sister moves everyone to Tears!
It has been 12 years since Robin Roberts returned to the Good Morning America anchor desk after a st3m c3ll tr4nspl4nt from her sister Sally-Ann Roberts — a gift she called “the gift of life.”
On Feb. 20, 2013, Roberts, now 64, said: “Faith, family and friends have brought me to this moment.” She shared their medical journey, where Sally-Ann donated st3m c3lls to treat my3lodyspl4stic syndr0me (MDS) — a rare condition affecting healthy blood cell formation.
Roberts used the anniversary to urge more st3m c3ll d0n0rs. Around 18,000 people yearly need such treatment; about 12,000 rely on registries like NMDP (formerly Be the Match) to find donors.
Roberts admitted she never knew that st3m c3ll tr4nspl4nts could help cure up to 70 conditions. Her story inspired viewers to donate over $2 million, join the registry (37,000 new members), and led to 155 actual donations, including from her nephew Jeremiah Craft, whom she called a “superhero.”
Jeremiah said: “What I’m going through is nothing compared to those fighting illness.” The procedure, similar to donating plasma, takes 4–8 hours; fewer than 1% have serious side effects.
Roberts recalled: “My doctor told me I had a year or two to live without a successful tr4nspl4nt… None of my other siblings matched. It all came down to my sister Sally-Ann.”
