5,000 People Stand in Rain for Hours to See if Stem Cells Match for 5-Year-Old Battling Cancer

Organizers were stunned by the sight of over 5,000 people waiting to see if they were eligible to be a stem cell donor for five-year-old cancer patient Oscar Saxelby Lee. In December, Oscar was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. It is an aggressive form of leukemia that causes the bone marrow to release immature white blood cells and treatments requires stem cell transplants every three months. Oscar lecturer Laura Senter, 22, said the diagnosis shocked the whole class as his illness developed and she couldn’t believe it.

She said the whole story was heartbreaking and they went into action mode to find a donor. His primary school in Worcester, England, organized the event and Sue Bladen, the chief executive, said they would do whatever it took to find donors. His teacher Sarah Keating said this was the first time a child had gone through something like this in his 20-year teaching career. She said they were determined to fight back.

A crowdfunding page was launched in February to register 17- to 55-year-olds as donors. The school and Oscar parents raised $11,300, more than they could ever have dreamed of. The event ran out of more than 200 volunteers on its first day, but more than 1,800 people came forward as potential donors. By the next day, 3,000 people had turned up, setting a record for most people who volunteered as stem cell donors.

Ms Bladen said there was no moaning as the snake was sealed off in the pouring rain. The spirit and generosity of the people was incredible.

Oscar is now in the care of doctors at Birmingham Children’s Hospital and has undergone 20 blood transfusions and months of chemotherapy. It takes six weeks to determine whether or not a potential donor is eligible for a stem cell transplant, and Lisa Nugent, director of donor recruitment, said it can be difficult to find a matching because 17,000 HLA traits must be examined. His mother reminded everyone that Oscar deserves to live to the fullest like the other soldiers who fought such terrible diseases. He must live a normal, simple life, but he must also save himself.

A crowdfunding page was launched in February to register 17- to 55-year-olds as donors. The school and Oscar parents raised $11,300, more than they could ever have dreamed of. The event ran out of more than 200 volunteers on its first day, but more than 1,800 people came forward as potential donors. By the next day, 3,000 people had turned up, setting a record for most people who volunteered as stem cell donors.

Ms Bladen said there was no moaning as the snake was sealed off in the pouring rain. The spirit and generosity of the people was incredible.

Oscar is now in the care of doctors at Birmingham Childrens Hospital and has undergone 20 blood transfusions and months of chemotherapy. It takes six weeks to determine whether or not a potential donor is eligible for a stem cell transplant, and Lisa Nugent, director of donor recruitment, said it can be difficult to find a matching because 17,000 HLA traits must be examined. His mother reminded everyone that Oscar deserves to live to the fullest like the other soldiers who fought such terrible diseases. He must live a normal, simple life, but he must also save himself.