CHASE Tanner was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in September 2012 at the age of 15 after experiencing symptoms of tiredness, weight loss and an aching body.
He went into remission after one stage of chemotherapy, but has unfortunately relapsed. Chase desperately needs to find a bone marrow stem cell donor match to survive and the chances of finding a donor match are one in 100 000 within your ethnic group. Both his siblings have been tested and neither of them are matches.
“It only takes two test tubes of blood to become a donor and if you are a successful match, the donor process is as painless as donating blood,” explained Stephanie Berry, public relations manager for The Sunflower Fund in KwaZulu-Natal.
“Bone marrow is no longer surgically removed but additional white blood cells are harvested directly from the blood stream much like donating blood or platelets,” she added.
Chase loves camping and photography and spending time with his friends. When asked whether he had a message for the public, Chase responded: “I would like everyone to register as bone marrow stem cell donors as you could be mine, or someone else’s, only chance of survival. You could be contributing to a life of new dreams for me.”
Visit www.sunflowerfund.org.za or phone (toll free) 0800 12 10 82, weekdays between 8.30am and 4.30pm. The donor liaison will go through the donor requirements and you will then be directed to your closest blood clinic to donate.
