FORT WORTH (WBAP/KLIF News) – A Mesquite family is hoping a bone marrow drive hosted by Medstar on Friday will help their child in the fight of his life.
9-year-old Darian is in need of a miracle. He’s battling sickle cell disease which comes with debilitating symptoms such as chronic pain, infection and fatigue.
A bone marrow transplant can put him on the patch to living pain free. However, the process can be lengthy and hundreds of thousands of people wait on lists each year in hopes of finding a bone marrow match.
Medstar’s Matt Zavadsky said Darian’s search has been particularly tough because two matches were found previously, but the donors were unable to help him.
“Our feeling is wow… this poor kid has had an emotional roller coaster… lets see how many more people we can register through this bone marrow drive to see if we can find a match that will eventually lead to a donation,” he said.
The process to get tested to be a donor is easy.
“Anybody between the ages of 18 to 55 can register. It is literally a cheek swab,” said Zavadsky.
The Tarrant County ambulance service has partnered with DKMS, a nonprofit founded to help fight blood cancers, to help bring in donors and hopefully find a match for Darian.
Zavadksy said getting tested to become a donor doesn’t take a lot of time but carries a potential impact that could help little Darian live a pain free life of promise.
“This is a very tangible way that you may be able to make may be able to make a difference in a child’s life whose suffering from leukemia or other blood disorders and literally make a huge impact on not only that child but on their entire family. Who knows what that child may be able to do if they were healthy or even able to survive and they can do that with your match,” he said.
The drive is on Friday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Medstar headquarters at 2900 Alta Mere Dr. in Fort Worth.
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