A gift from a world away
Brazilian teen meets local woman who saved his life...
Sixteen-year-old Pedro Soares and 49-year-old Marcia Jones don’t seem to have a lot in common.
They live in different countries, they’re a generation apart, and they speak different languages.
But thanks to a bone marrow donation, they now share a blood type, and a story.
After signing up to donate bone marrow 22 years ago, St. Catharines native Jones received a call in 2014. A recipient had been found.
Pedro was 14 at the time, and living in Sao Paolo, Brazil. He was diagnosed with chronic granulomatous disease, or CGD, when he was two years old.
The hereditary disease keeps his immune system from functioning properly, meaning he couldn’t protect himself from bacteria or fungi. A cold would turn into pneumonia and he would be in hospital for months at a time.
In 2012, a doctor told the family Pedro needed a bone marrow transplant or he may not survive the next infection. His sister, Gabriella, was unable to donate as she was a CGD carrier.
“After they found out I couldn’t donate, it was like all hopes were gone,” said Gabriella, translating for her mother, Marcia. “The doctor said we need to find a donor as soon as possible. Thank God he didn’t get sick.”
After two years of searching they contacted a doctor in the United States at the National Health Institute in Maryland. They had worked with him before, he was studying CGD, and sure enough he found a donor on the international registry.
Jones got the call that she was a potential match in April 2014. In August, she was able to donate through a process called stimulated peripheral blood stem cell donation. She had 10 injections in five days to leak bone marrow cells into her bloodstream, and then spent six hours on a machine that takes the bone marrow cells from her blood.
“As it was regenerating I had pain in my large bones just for a couple weeks after. I said, even if my bones hurt, it doesn’t matter, because somebody’s going through a lot more than I am right now,” she said.
She was right. Pedro had the same procedure done so that if Jones’ donation was rejected, he would be able to rely on his own bone marrow. He also had five rounds of chemotherapy and two of radiation to destroy his ineffective bone marrow.
The donation took place on Aug. 13 and was a success.
Jones waited a year to find the identity of her donor. When she received the letter in the mail she immediately texted the number.
“About an hour and a half later, I got a text saying, ‘This is Marcia, too. I’m Pedro’s mother. It’s a pleasure to hear from you.’
“And that’s when the tears started,” said Jones.
“Having the same name and knowing it was a child, I just cried.”
Marcia now calls Jones her son’s “marrow mommy.” The two have become close.
The Soareses met the Joneses this week on their way for their semi-annual checkup at the National Institute of Health.
“We’re family,” said Jones. “To actually know they exist and they’re doing well and now this experience of getting to spend three or four days with them is just beyond — it’s incredible.”
Jones hopes her story will spur others to become donors.
“They talk about how great it is for the recipient, but for me I feel like that’s why I’m doing the story, because I want more people do this.”
To sign up as a donor, people can visit blood.ca. A person must be between 17 and 35 to register and be willing to donate to any patient in need. There are also height and weight restrictions. As of now, Canadian Blood Services is particularly looking for ethnic and aboriginal males to donate.
The Soareses are looking towards the future. Although Pedro turns 17 on Saturday, his family joked that his real birthday is the day he received his donation.
“Now he knows he can live like a normal person,” said Gabriella, translating for Pedro. “He doesn’t have to take pills all the time. He doesn’t have to worry.”
We’re family. To actually know they exist and they’re doing well and now this experience of getting to spend three or four days with them is just beyond — it’s incredible.” Marcia Jones