Family, former teammates and friends gathered at Young Men’s Social Club on Tuesday night to partake in a heartwarming ceremony.

Around 100 people attended the event which saw former Social Club Bluebirds footballer Malcolm Lewis host a dinner reception for overseas bone marrow donor Chloé Williams, whose act of kindness helped save his life after he was diagnosed with leukaemia three years ago.

Ms Williams, who hails from Texas where she is employed as a registered nurse at Houston Methodist Hospital, was accompanied by her mother Delvin and son Jeremiah.

She said: “It makes me feel great to know I was able to be a blessing to somebody to give them a second chance at life. There was no other match for Malcolm but me, so for me not to give my time and my bone marrow to help someone else would be selfish.

“To give him a second chance at life is a wonderful thing and I am grateful I did. Malcolm, Dawnette (Mr Lewis’ wife) and I call ourselves blood relatives now because we have that connection.”

Mr Lewis, 65, has made a steady recovery since undergoing the bone marrow transplant at Brigham and Women Hospital in Boston in 2012.

“The first time I saw Malcolm in person I was just astounded at how well he is doing,” Ms Williams said. “He is doing really well because I actually used to do transplants for patients like Malcolm as a nurse so I know all what they go through and not every outcome is the greatest. Malcolm is very healthy and active.”

Mr Lewis, who was a member of Bluebirds’ formidable football team of the 1960s, is forever grateful to his American donor for saving his life.

“I call her a life giver,” he said. “Without her I would not be alive. She is my pulse and my sister now and I can’t thank her enough.”

Mr Lewis first met his donor in person on July 31. And what an emotional occasion it turned out to be.

“I hugged her and thanked her very much for being a donor and saving my life,” Mr Lewis said. “It’s something that most people do not see.

“I have 15 brothers and sisters and children and none of them could be a match for me. Chloé is someone that God has put on Earth for me and now I have relatives in Texas.”

Mr Lewis’ wife, Dawnette, also recalled the emotional union.

“When they started walking towards us I knew right away it was her,” she said. “I was very happy to see her and as I started waving as she walked towards me I became emotional. It was very emotional for me and when I hugged and kissed and thanked her I sobbed a little bit on her shoulder. It also brought the tears from her mom as well.”

Mr Lewis’ ordeal has now given him a new lease on life.

“I have a new appreciation for life and you never notice it until you need it (donor),” he said. “I have been a healthy person all of my life so when I was told I had bone cancer I could not understand why. After being a sportsman all of my life and taking care of my life I don’t know what happened. But thankfully the almighty revived my life.”

Ms Williams joined the registry for bone marrow when she first began donating blood.

“It all actually started by me just donating blood and when I signed up I decided I was going to join the registry for bone marrow and maybe six or seven years later I got a phone call to say I was a match,” she explained. “I said ‘yes, I will donate’, and so I just kind of researched different ways of donating bone marrow and decided to do general anaesthesia.”

Ms Williams underwent the bone marrow biopsy following a series of tests to make sure she was a complete match.

She described the medical procedure as “not painful” and swift.

“It was a smooth process and it happened so very quick,” Ms Williams said. “They just go in the lower back bone in your butt area and take bone marrow out. They take a needle and go in and pull out the bone marrow that way and you are asleep so you do not feel anything. I had a really good team and actually did the donation process at the Houston Methodist Hospital where I work.”

Ms Williams added: “When they collected my bone marrow they could not tell where they were shipping it off to and to know it was Bermuda I was like, ’wow’ ... how did that happen that I am a match for someone in Bermuda. It’s just really amazing how everything has played itself out.”

Mr Lewis has urged more Bermudians to become donors.

“We need more Bermudians to be a donors in order to save more lives and the more the merrier,” he said.

Ms Williams has not ruled out returning to these shores in the future to be reunited with Mr Lewis and his family.

“Bermuda is a beautiful country and really nice,” she said. “My family have enjoyed the entire trip and I definitely think I will be coming back.”