A British student whose family launched a worldwide campaign to find a tissue donor after she was diagnosed with a blood cancer has found a match.
Lara Casalotti, 24, was left fighting for her life after doctors told her she needed a stem cell transplant after she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia last December during a trip to Thailand.
As she is of Thai and Italian heritage, doctors warned it would be difficult to find as a match as just three percent of stem cell donors around the world are mixed race.
After a campaign, Match4Lara, was launched to find a match, a staggering 20,000 people signed up to donor registries in the UK, Thailand, the US, Italy and beyond and finally a UK blood cancer charity, Anthony Nolan, announced it had found a match for the student.
“These past months have been a whirlwind but I am so thankful a donor with a genetic match has now been found,” Lara said.
“Thanks to everyone’s immense support, I have always stayed hopeful that I would find one, but I realize how lucky I have been, given how difficult it was to find that donor. I want to keep urging people to sign up to the donor registries so that everyone can have a chance of finding their match.”
Lara’s mother Supanya added: “As a mum, I feel pure relief as we knew that the odds were stacked against Lara. Whoever the donor is, they will never, ever know how grateful I am.”
The donor is due to donate their stem cells next month and the transplant will then take place.
Ann O’Leary at Anthony Nolan said: “We’re over the moon that we’ve been able to find a suitable donor for Lara and that she’s now able to begin her transplant journey.
“We’re so grateful to Lara and all of her incredible supporters for spreading the word about the simple but vital act of donating stem cells. By diversifying the donor register, they have given hope to so many other people from ethnic minority and mixed race communities.
“The life-changing impact of the Match4Lara campaign will be seen for years to come, as any one of the thousands of people they have signed up could save the life of someone like Lara in the future.”
To register as a stem cell donor in Thailand, visit the Thai Red Cross National Blood Center and ask to join the Thai Stem Cell Donor Registry.
Related:
Match4Lara: Blood donors urgently needed to help save life of Thai-Italian student
