Help Cancer Patients Find Bone Marrow Donors!

Each of the patients we support has a story to tell, and every experience is unique. It is our priviledge to be able to witness these moving stories and provide help whenever possible.  We hope that by sharing these stories with you we let you see the world through the eyes of someone who faces a terminal illness - and finds strength to live a normal life.

One of the most inspring patients we have seen is 21-year-old Yegor from Moscow. In January, he had the third recurrence of acute leukemia.  The first time he got sick he was 15, and his treatment lasted almost 2.5 years. Yegor was in remission for only eight months, but in that time he was able to accomplish a lot - he graduated from high school, passed a driving test and got his driving license, and enrolled into Sechenov Moscow First State University to study medicine.

When Yegor relapsed in August 2018, the doctors searched extensively for a compatible bone marrow donor in Russian and foreign registries, but none was found.  In December of that year, Yegor received a transplant from his father who was a 50% match, but he relapsed just months after.  The next transplant was from his mother who was a 70% match.  Through these challenging times, Yegor continued his college studies - mostly remotely, but also in person when he was able to attend.

After the third relapse, Yegor was able to achieve remission thanks to recently approved innovative therapy with CAR T-cells. However, to strengthen the remission he still needs to undergo bone marrow transplant from a donor.  Fortunately, there are now potentially matching unrelated donors available in the registry in Germany.  While the family was able to raise money for the initial deposit, they are struggling to cover the whole bill after exhausting their financial resources over the years of Yegor's illness.

Yegor's calm determination to live his life on his own terms regards of what obstacles come his way is very impressive, especially for someone so young.   Still, for Yegor and many other blood cancer patients, bone marrow transplants are often the only curative treatments for blood cancers.  Finding a matching donor withourt delay will allow these patients to return to normal lives and achieve their dreams. But they can't do it on their own - and we are so grateful for your support!