Alba needs a lifesaving stem cell donor
Alba needs a lifesaving stem cell donor after her cancer returned
At just 13 years old, Alba is facing blood cancer for the second time. After relapsing from an aggressive form of blood cancer, Alba now needs a stem cell transplant. For this lifesaving transplant to be successful, Alba needs to find an unrelated stem cell donor whose tissue type matches hers.
That lifesaving donor could be you.
Alba’s journey started when she was four years old. Shortly after Christmas in 2017, her mother, Esther, noticed that her daughter was bruising easily and had developed an unusual rash. Like many parents, Esther hoped it was nothing serious. But when tiny red blood spots began appearing on Alba’s skin, she knew something was wrong.
Trusting her instincts, Esther rushed Alba to a pediatrician, a decision that would change their family’s life forever.
After further tests were conducted, the results confirmed that Alba had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL).
The years that followed were filled with countless hospital visits, chemotherapy, and blood tests. After two and a half years of treatment, Alba completed chemotherapy and slowly regained her strength. She returned to school, rediscovered the simple joy of her childhood and continued dreaming of one day becoming either a chef or an anime voice actor.
For several years, those dreams felt within reach. Then, at the age of 13, everything changed.
It started with pain in her knee after she accidentally slipped while playing. Doctors initially suspected a sports injury or possibly a delayed side effect of the chemotherapy she had received years earlier. However, further tests revealed blasts in her blood, and a bone marrow biopsy confirmed that Alba’s leukaemia had returned.
Today, Alba is once again undergoing intensive treatment. She recently developed a serious infection and became very ill. Because she is experiencing severe neutropenia, she was admitted to the haematology ward, where she remains in protective isolation.
Her cancer journey has forced much of her childhood to be placed on hold once again. After missing months of school and her Grade 7 examinations, Alba now has to repeat a school year.
For Esther, watching her daughter endure a second battle with blood cancer has been heartbreaking.
For patients like Alba, every new stem cell donor who registers represents the possibility of more birthdays, more school days and more dreams becoming reality.
You could be the lifesaving match that patients like Alba is desperately waiting for.
Remember, all costs related to the donation process are taken care of by DKMS Africa.
