News / Health
‘Needle in a haystack’ match found for Lara
Lara Casalotti, the 24-year-old Bristol graduate who was diagnosed with AML (Acute Myeloid Leukaemia) in December has found a ‘needle in a haystack’ stem cell match.
Watch Laura’s announcement:
is needed now More than ever
Lara’s mixed Italian and Thai heritage made finding a match a much more difficult task as only three per cent of the world’s registered stem cell donors are mixed race.
In response, Lara’s family and friends launched the global match4lara campaign in the UK, the US, Thailand, Italy and beyond. The family estimates that the campaign has attracted more than 20,000 new registrations. 820 students at the University of Bristol signed up at a drive two weeks ago.
Blood cancer registry Anthony Nolan experienced an enormous spike in new registrations particularly from BAME (black, Asian, minority and ethnic) backgrounds.
The campaign received enormous attention as celebrities and politicians such as Stephen Fry, David Cameron and JK Rowling backed the appeal.
The identity of the donor must remain secret, in line with doctor-patient confidentiality regulations. However, if everything goes to plan, the stem cells will be donated in March.
The family were quick to add that the search isn’t over and urged more people to sign up to help find a match for Harry, a 10-year-old boy who is still searching for his match.
This article originally appeared in Epigram
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