Boston Children's nurse completes virtual Pan-Mass Challenge after missing race for stem cell donation

CBS News

2 days ago

A Boston Children's Hospital nurse wasn't expecting to be in a hospital bed when she was meant to be riding in the Pan-Mass Challenge, but she was grateful it was for a life-changing reason: stem cell donation.
Kristin McIntire is no stranger to long rides. The Boston nurse has completed 10 marathons and several 100-mile bike races.
"I love exercise. I love being active," she said, jokingly adding that she commutes to work on her bike. "I don't know if you're familiar with Boston traffic, but it's certainly the most easy way to get around."
But for McIntire, riding has always been about more than just fitness. It's personal and it's purposeful.
"I've always needed to align that with a higher purpose, that I don't feel like I'm doing it by myself. So whether that's riding with a team, running with a team fundraising for a group, it's been a lot more meaningful for me," McIntire said.
For years, McIntire served as a pediatric oncology nurse at Boston Children's Hospital, working on one of the most intense and emotional floors in the building.
"There are other outcomes that aren't so great... where the family is leaving without their child," she recalled. "And that's really, really sad."
She rides in the Pan-Mass Challenge with Pedal for Pediatrics, a team made up of coworkers that raises money for children and families facing cancer at Dana-Farber and Boston Children's.
But last year, just as she was preparing for the big ride, Kristin received a life-changing message: she'd been matched as a stem cell donor.
"It was honestly so crazy. I was like, wait, what?" McIntire said.
She spent what would've been Pan-Mass Challenge weekend in a hospital bed in Florida, donating stem cells to a stranger with leukemia.
"That was a pretty cool reason to stop training, I would say," McIntire said.
Though she couldn't be on the course, McIntire found another way to finish the journey. In the weeks after her donation, she completed multiple 50-mile rides virtually.
"This team directly provides funding that benefits those patients directly, whether that's ride share services or meal coupons, anything that can help support this family," McIntire said.
McIntire has never met the person she helped. She doesn't even know their name. But she knows they're still alive.
"I saved a person's life, and I was a little tired after the donation, and that was it," McIntire said.
"Whether you're riding, whether you're volunteering, or whether you're out there cheering— all of that matters, and it's very important work," she added.
McIntire's stem cell procedure was not a traditional bone marrow surgery.
Most donations today are done through a simple outpatient blood draw called peripheral blood stem cell donation.
You can learn more or join the registry here.