Finding One Match is a life-and-death search for many
Joshua Weekes’ story has shone a light on a single, sobering statistic: Only 25 per cent of patients who need a bone marrow transplant are able to find a stem cell match within their own family.
Joshua Weekes, 6, needs a bone marrow transplant, and his family is urging everyone to join the national stem cell and bone marrow registry in hopes of finding a donor for their son and others in the country who require this life-saving treatment.
This leaves the vast majority of those in need, like Joshua, 6, the son of Richmond Hospital Social Worker Practice Leader – Lia Weekes, to rely on strangers for a life-saving donation. For this reason, Canadian Blood Services is specifically urging people of mixed ethnic backgrounds to register with One Match as potential donors.
VCH Richmond staff have heeded the call.
One Match clinic next week
Staff from VCH Richmond are sponsoring a One Match drive in Richmond next week not only to increase the stem cell donor pool to benefit patients Canada-wide, but also to find a match for the little boy whose life depends on it.
“Joshua’s mom is our colleague and we’re doing everything we can to help the family, but there are others out there who are in desperate need of a stem cell match, too,” said Brenda Goossen, another Richmond Hospital social worker who works closely with Lia. “We hope that by holding a One Match clinic in Richmond we can encourage as many people as possible to register. If we’re lucky, we can help find a stem cell match for everyone who needs one, including Joshua.”
Date: Tuesday, April 5, 2016
Time: 12:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Place: St. Joseph the Worker Parish
4451 Williams Road, Richmond
Everyone between the ages of 17 to 35 is encouraged to attend and join the registry. The challenge for Joshua is to find a donor who shares his mixed heritage – Filipino, British, Icelandic and Caribbean – and anyone who shares in even one of these heritages is urgently needed.
Volunteers required
The April 5 One Match registration drive needs a total of 12 volunteers to bring the event to fruition.
“Canadian Blood Services will not run the event if we do not have the required number of volunteers committed for the entire time,” said Goossen. “At this time, we only have four people registered to help out during the core hours of 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.”
If you’re available to help during the clinic, please contact Goossen as soon as possible, Brenda.goossen@vch.ca.
Joshua’s story
In February 2016, Joshua Weekes, his mom, Lia, and dad, Dagan, returned home from a vacation and was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia – Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
Joshua now needs a bone marrow transplant, and his family is urging everyone to join the national stem cell and bone marrow registry in hopes of finding a donor for their son and others in the country who require this life-saving treatment.