A young man who decided to donate his bone marrow after watching ITVs 'Surprise Surprise' has saved the life of an American volunteer fire fighter.

Joseph Bennett was just 18 years old when put his name down on the Anthony Nolan Trust register to become a bone marrow donor.

He was told there was only a small chance he would get the call to be a donor - as only one in 1,000 people on the register ever come up as a match.

But just five months later he was told he was a possible match for someone overseas.

The teenager went with his parents to Kings College Hospital in London where he had nearly one litre of bone marrow extracted from his pelvis.

Now Joe has travelled to America to meet the recipient of his donation 22-year-old Jacob Sanborn - who lives 3,000 miles away in Boston, Massachusetts.

Joseph travelled to Boston where he received a hero's welcome

The Brit was given a “hero's welcome” when Jacob's firefighter colleagues provided a guard of honour for him at a family party.

Jacob's mother has said previously, before she knew who their donor was: “This completely selfless donor, just a boy himself, saved my son. We are forever grateful.”

She said on the day of the transplant they were scared the donor would cancel because he was so young but after it arrived on the plane, she said it felt like a “miracle”.

Speaking about his decision to become a donor Joe, now 21 from Doncaster, South Yorks., said: ”I was watching Surprise Surprise on TV one night.

Joseph was inspired by a story on Surprise Surprise

"There was an inspirational story on the programme and I decided that I was going to put my name on the register. “

He signed up in November 2013 and got the call in March 2014 - further tests showed he was a perfect match.

He said: "I was asked by the trust if I wanted to know how my recipient was but I was warned the person was quite ill and only had a 50/50 chance of survival.

"I decided I wanted to be told and for two years we sent and received letters and cards...All I knew was that he was a young man in America."

Finally, in August last year, the two year anonymity clause was up and the pair decided to meet.

Joseph said it was "incredibly overwhelming" to meet up, adding: "I feel incredibly proud to have been a part of Jacob's recovery - seeing someone who was so ill return to lead a normal life is incredible.

"For the sake of a week's discomfort for yourself, the phenomenal impact on the person you have saved will last a lifetime."

Jacob is a volunteer firefighter and a first responder for two fire departments.

He has completely recovered from the aplastic anemia and has now returned to full-time work as an Emergency Medical Technician.

AN X-ray showing bone marrow cancer

"Everything in regards to his illness is back to normal and I can't believe that is because of something I did,” Joseph said.

"I would say to anyone that would be willing to donate to sign up as soon as they can.”

Joseph said it was fantastic to meet the group of firefighters - all of whom were grateful to him for saving their friend's life.

Joseph said: "The party was a complete surprise - it felt like a hero's welcome.

"Everyone was saying thank you for what I had done and the firefighters just kept saying thank you for everything."

"It was completely overwhelming to see exactly how my donation has affected so many people.

"It made me feel incredibly proud to have given my bone marrow."