When Dr Michael Shannon saved the life of a premature baby 30 years ago, he would never have thought decades later, the favour would be returned.

KTLA reported on Sunday the incredible story of two men in California who saved each other's lives in two very different ways.

Reunited: Paediatrician Michael Shannon meets paramedic Chris Trokey. Credit:KTLA

The news station said that Dr Michael Shannon, a paediatrician, found himself pinned inside a burning vehicle after a car accident in 2011. One of the rescue workers who had helped to free the seriously injured Dr Shannon from the car was Chris Trokey, a young Orange County Fire Authority paramedic.

When Mr Trokey visited the hospital where Dr Shannon spent 45 days recovering from internal injuries, he realised that the man he had helped save was the man who had given him the gift of life 30 years earlier.