Friends and family of a mother of three are holding a stem cell drive in Calgary – in the hopes of finding a potential matching donor.
Family friend Sam Seto says Daphne, who’s from Toronto, is a beloved member of her community.
“Daphne is the type of person who comes whenever you need help, supporting shoulder to cry on,” she said. “And she’s constantly helping with the family business, is there to look after the kids, the grandkids, and just the kind of friend that everyone would want to have.”
Daphne was diagnosed last year with a rare blood cancer: Myeloproliferative neoplasm.
“And really her only chance at survival and being able to see her grandchildren grow up is going to be through a stem cell match,” Seto explained.
But they haven’t found a viable match in the family – or even in the global registry of millions.
They are not giving up though – hosting stem cell donor registration drives across the country.
“In hopes of finding a match for Daphne, but also a match for anyone else across the world. So even if folks aren’t an ethnic match for Daphne, we still encourage everyone to come, to register online to get a free kit mailed to their house, so they have a chance to possibly save a life,” Seto said.
For those in the 17-35 age range and in good health, the process to register is fairly straightforward.
“There’s like all this information about how to swab and you kind of have to do it like you’re brushing your teeth,” explained registered donor Galya Wornovitzky. “And then, you have to stick the little stickers onto the ends of the Q-tips. And then you put them back in the envelope and then you ship it off.”
And those over 35 can also join the worldwide registry by ordering a kit online.
“I think it’s important because you never know if you’re gonna be a match for someone else,” said Wornovitzky. “Or if you’re going to be in this situation and you’d like also for other people to come to your aid.”
The family says that even if you may not be a match for Daphne, you could still be a solitary match for someone else in the world – and help save a life.
More information on the donor campaign for Daphne can be found at: helpdaphne.org