BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — A Birmingham family experienced an emotional reunion Tuesday when two-year-old Anders Golden met the man whose bone marrow donation saved his life.

The reunion took place at Children’s of Alabama as part of Childhood Cancer and Sickle Cell Awareness Month. The hospital brought together transplant recipients with their donors — including Anders and his donor, Charlie Smith, who traveled more than 2,000 miles from Nevada.

Before his transplant, Anders spent most of his young life in the hospital.

“Before Anders’ bone marrow transplant, he was very sick,” said his mother, Amber Golden. “He wasn’t able to walk, crawl, or do normal things that babies do.”

At just eight-months-old, Anders was diagnosed with a rare chromosomal abnormality in the PI4KA gene and a 22q1

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