In March this year, more than 6000 people came to bid and become potential stem cell donors for a young boy who was diagnosed with leukemia.
The boy, aged 5 and named Oscar Saxelby-Lee, needed a transplant within a three-month period of his chemo; otherwise, his chances for recuperation would significantly reduce.
The organizer of the donation, Louise White, said that it was fantastic seeing that so many people care. The event to join the NHS blood stem cell register happened at the Guildhall in Worcester, England.
This was a follow-up from a signup session that occurred previously at the Pitmaston Primary School. Even though there was rain, it didn’t stop thousands of waiting in the queue.
Among the crowd being swabbed was also the MP of Worcester, Robin Walker.
Humanity Can Be Amazing
The boy’s mother, Olivia Saxelby, said that this was million times better than winning the lottery. Unfortunately, neither of Oscar’s parents was a proper match for the boy.
She explained that there would be final checkups to find the most suitable donor and then their boy was up for 4 days of radiotherapy that happened towards the end of April, prior to the transplant.
When the radiotherapy finished, the boy went into protective isolation because his immunity was compromised- he was weaker and less capable of fighting off infections.
The mother said that it was scary and tough, but that they were prepared because they believed in their boy’s strength.
After the boy was found free of leukemia blast cells, the transplant could happen.
The boy was receiving treatment at the Birmigham Children’s Hospital for acute lymphoblastic leukemia that he was previously diagnosed with.
Sadly, the Treatment Didn’t Work
The boy underwent two stem cell treatments since the donations; however, the tests showed that this didn’t work as expected. The family will now have to travel to Singapore for treatment which isn’t available on NHS.
Crowdfunding helped the family raise money to pay for the quite expensive therapy. The boy will participate in a CAR-T therapy.
This program is intended for individual patients and it’s based on reprogramming their immunity cells that which will then attack the cancer.
His mother explains that there’s not much out there for their boy so they need to give him the chance. If this doesn’t work, they will need to come back and continue with the same plan.
The boy is still excited and is taking everything in his stride. Brave Oscar is expected to be in Singapore for the next 6 months or so.
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