Family of teen who received life-saving transplant thank UHDB staff
The family of a teenage boy who has received a life-saving bone marrow transplant has thanked UHDB colleagues for taking part in a ground-breaking bone marrow donation drive.
15-year-old Daniel Greer was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in June, and after being told he would need a bone marrow transplant to save his life, staff across the Trust rushed to help by organising a donation drive – which is believed to be the first of its kind to take place in a hospital trust.
Daniel’s family member Maggie Fearon, who works in the Breast Unit at Royal Derby Hospital, asked colleagues for help in finding a stem cell donor match for Daniel by encouraging them to sign up to the DKMS stem cell register. This involved giving cheek swabs, to see if they were an eligible donor after Daniel’s family were all tested and given the news they were not eligible matches.
Maggie said: “It was a real team effort and the Trust was really supportive, getting behind the cause. Duncan Cameron, General Manager for the Cancer Business Unit, was terrific and Chelsea Cork, Haematology Service Manager, was a key part of the drive – she was a real trooper working behind the scenes to make it such a success.
“It was important to me to do something to give Daniel and his family hope. I know we have such compassionate staff at UHDB which was obvious during the donation drive. The care and concern colleagues showed was really touching.”
There was an incredible turn-out to the event with more than 250 staff getting swabbed or signing up to the register, with Maggie also giving out 1,000 leaflets at this year’s Commonwealth Games, resulting in a further 180 people signing up.
Maggie added: “We had volunteers give their time to the events and as a result of their goodwill we raised more than £400 for charity as well.
“I can’t thank everyone enough. It took just seven minutes for colleagues to take three swabs and give their consent but the impact is incredible. This has given Daniel the chance at a second life and other children will benefit too.”
Daniel, who lives in Northern Ireland, found an eligible donor as a result of the search and has since been deemed healthy enough to be discharged into outpatient care following an intense treatment schedule, which involved chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant surgery, back in October.
Daniel’s mum, Anne, said even though the family will never know if the donor originated from UHDB or their wider search, she appreciates the efforts of colleagues will contribute to helping other young people in Daniel’s position.
Anne said: “We're very relieved and very grateful. While the road to recovery is going to be a long one, hopefully this is the start of Daniel's journey back to full health.
“The future for our favourite 15-year-old now looks bright again. But this hope is only possible due to the kindness of a complete stranger who signed up to the bone marrow / stem cell register and then agreed to donate when they got the call to say they were Daniel's match.
“He spent 49 nights in an isolation ward as doctors waited for the new cells to take effect. It's been a tough few weeks - a lot of pain and sickness for a kid to handle but yesterday, Daniel left the hospital as he was deemed fit and well enough to be discharged into outpatient care.”