Cape Town - After months of searching for a bone marrow donor, little Gracelyn “Gracey” Green from Atlantis finally found her match.
Little Gracey, 1, was diagnosed in August last year with juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia (JMML) – a rare cancer of the blood that affects young children, and her only chance of survival is a stem cell transplant.
After months of donor drives, it has been confirmed a match has been found for the toddler.
According to the South African Bone Marrow Registry (SABMR), the chances of finding a match is 1 in 100 000 and the odds were even greater for Gracey (around 1 in 400 000) due to the lack of donors of colour on the registry, as patients are more likely to find a match within their own ethnic grouping.
It said the lack of donors of colour was not unique to South Africa and globally there is a 27% chance of people of colour finding a match.
People of European decent have a 70% chance of finding a donor.
However, the SABMR said it has seen a significant increase of donors of colour on the registry over the last year due to ongoing donor drives and patient campaigns such as those hosted by Gracey’s family.
It said this in turn meant it could assist more patients, like Gracey, to have a second chance at life.
While relatives try to be strong for Gracey, the family have had to endure tragedy more than most, and the little girl’s diagnosis has made them even more determined not to lose her.
On June 4, 2021, Gracey’s mother, Shanique Green, 20, and three others perished when their family home was gutted by a fire.
Gracey was only five months old at the time.
The brave young mom managed to hand Gracey to someone through the window as she went back into the home to try to save a relative.
Speaking to IOL, Gracey’s aunt, Lizel Solomons, said they were elated to find out her niece had found a match.
Initially, she said the transplant had to take place in June, but due to Gracey not being well, the transplant was pushed back.
“Gracelyn became very ill with anaemia and high heart rates, fever spikes and low counts, so the transplant was pushed back,” she said.
Solomons said the family hosted five donor drives to help Gracey find a match.
According to Jane Ward, deputy director for the SABMR, said the donor was found in the US.
“The South African Bone Marrow Registry can confirm that a donor cord blood unit has been found in the US for Gracey, funded through our Patient Assistance Programme (PAP).
“The PAP was established by the SABMR in 2018 to financially assist families who cannot afford donor related costs.
“The PAP is solely funded by donations from the public, corporates and fund-raising efforts, hence the continued awareness by the SABMR to donate to this worthy cause to give patients a second chance at life,” Ward said.
The SABMR explained that cord blood is one of three sources of blood-forming cells used in transplants.
The others include bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cells. Umbilical cord blood is rich in graft T cells, which decreases the risk of graft-v-host disease (GVHD), which may develop when transplanted stem cells from a donor attack a patient’s own cells.
It said collecting stem cells at birth is easy and painless. Since stem cells are usually discarded as medical waste, collecting them should not conflict with any moral, ethical or religious belief.
Another major advantage of cord blood is that it doesn’t have to be a 100% tissue match for a transplant as it is considered more naïve or biologically younger and thus better able to tolerate human leukocyte antigens mismatches.
This opens the door to more possible matches. Other advantages include prompt availability of the transplant, decreased risk of GVHD and better long-term immune recovery, resulting in long-term survival.
“My family are obviously anxious and concerned, however, we were very well informed and we are aware that the upcoming transplant can go either way, but we hope and pray for the best and we trust God for good things.
“We have an idea of the timeline, but when the transplant is happening depends on Gracey’s well being and if all the markers tick all the boxes,” Solomons added.
robin.francke@inl.co.za
IOL