Yannis Needs a Lifesaving Match

Eight-year-old Yannis urgently needs a stem cell transplant after relapsing from an aggressive form of blood cancer. With none of his family members being a match, his only chance at survival now is finding an unrelated stem cell donor whose tissue type matches his.

A year ago, Yannis was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukaemia (ALL), and over the following year he underwent multiple operations and intensive chemotherapy. By May, while Yannis was preparing to return to school, his family believed the worst was behind them, until Doctors discovered cancer cells in his blood, confirming that the cancer had returned.

With no suitable donor found within his family, the search is now on for a complete stranger who could become Yannis's lifesaving match. Finding a matching stem cell donor depends on having closely matched human leukocyte antigen (HLA) tissue types, which are inherited. Because HLA tissue types are more commonly shared among people with similar ancestral and ethnic backgrounds, patients are most likely to find a suitable donor within their own ethnic community.

This is why increasing the diversity of stem cell donor registries is so important. For Yannis, whose father is from Burundi and whose mother is German, his best chance of finding a lifesaving match lies within the Burundian and wider East African communities. However, despite an ongoing search, a matching unrelated donor has not yet been found.

Every new person who registers not only increases Yannis's chances of finding a lifesaving match but also offers hope to thousands of other patients searching for their own donor.

If you are healthy and between the ages of 17 and 55, you could be the match Yannis or another patient with blood cancer or a blood disorder is desperately waiting for.

Remember, all costs related to the donation process are taken care of by DKMS Africa.