Public flocks to stem-cell clinics for boy with cancer
‘Our events usually average ... between 50 and 150, so 1,100 was just unbelievable’
So many people have wanted to help find a stem cell match for an Edmonton boy fighting cancer that Canadian Blood Services hosted a third clinic.
The special drives were set up by the family of eight-year-old Brady Mishio, who has acute myeloid leukemia and had three rounds of chemotherapy since November 2016.
People showed up to the Holy Cross Ukrainian Catholic Parish at 9003 153 Ave. on Thursday to see if they are a potential match for the boy, or for someone else in need of a stem cell transplant.
Caitlin Lazarenko, Mishio’s cousin, said she hadn’t heard about stem cell donation before her cousin got cancer.
“This is my first introduction to it,” she said.
Lazarenko worked on a stem cell swab drive at Concordia, her school.
“It’s amazing, the response we’ve been getting from everybody,” she said. “It’s amazing and inspirational that there are so many good people that really want to help people in need.”
Robyn Henwood, stem cell territory manager for Canadian Blood Services, said the organization held a third event to make sure anyone who didn’t get a chance to sign up could see if they’re a match for someone in need.
The first event had 93 people wanting to donate, while the second event had 1,100 potential donors, with another 1,000 people turned away because CBS ran out of supplies.
“Our events usually average somewhere between 50 and 150, so 1,100 was just unbelievable for us,” she said on Thursday. “I was just blown away, to be honest.”
Henwood said in 95 per cent of cases where stem cells are donated, they are drawn from the arm, similar to a blood donation, and it takes four to six hours.
Some donors need to get a hormone injection to stimulate stem cells. In the other five per cent of cases, a day surgery is performed and stem cells are taken from the iliac crest in the pelvis.
Henwood said they do not worry about a lot of the same complications as blood donation.
CBS is looking for donors between the ages of 17 and 35, especially male and ethnically-diverse donors.
At any given time in Canada, about 1,000 people are waiting for a match. When including donors who sign up through swab samples and in cord bank blood donations, about 50 per cent of people find a match.
There are 10 different factors in finding a match, mostly based on ethnic background.
“The chances of you being matched are less than one per cent,” Henwood said. “If you are, it’s entirely possible you’ll be the only person in the world who is a match for someone. You really would be giving somebody a second chance.”