A bone marrow donor has been found for Newry schoolboy Daniel Greer.
The 14-year-old Abbey Christian Brothers’ pupil was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia at the beginning of the summer.
His family have campaigned relentlessly urging people to sign up to the stem cell register, as a transplant is his only chance of survival.
Only one in four people will find a match within their family and unfortunately Daniel fell into that 75 percentile, therefore he he needed a stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor.
Fortunately, his family were able to announce, through their Do It For Daniel Facebook page, that they had “some brilliant news that at last we can now share – a suitable donor has been found for our Daniel!”
“This amazing person came forward several weeks ago but as you can imagine, there are lots and lots of laboratory checks that have to be carried out before doctors can be sure they are the best possible match.
“We had got our hopes up before but this time, fingers crossed, it’s all systems go. Daniel should be heading to Bristol next week to be prepped for what we hope will be a life-saving transplant.
“We know there is still a long, risky road ahead and Daniel may have to get a lot sicker before he gets better. He will have to spend several months in isolation with only his mum and dad allowed to visit. But finding the right donor has at least given him a fighting chance against.”
“We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported us on this rollercoaster journey so far… all those who helped us fundraise for blood cancer and bone marrow charities; all those who organised and attended #DoItForDaniel events; all those who trained up to recruit new bone marrow donors; all those who donated, printed and distributed our campaign posters, banners and flyers; and the THOUSANDS of people who signed up as bone marrow/stem cell donors in response to Daniel’s story.”
