Like finding a needle in a haystack that's how a Queensland mother has described the search for a stem cell donor match for her bi-racial son. The family is leading a global campaign to encourage more people to register for donation and potentially save lives.
00:00Brimming with optimism for the future, these Year 12s listen as Bronwyn Tong talks about her son.
00:09Last September, 20-year-old Rowan was given a shock diagnosis.
00:14There was no signs at all. He was well and he just had his routine test and they sent him straight to Royal Brisbane.
00:20One of these young men could help save his life. Rowan was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia.
00:27The physiotherapy student is away travelling after gruelling treatment but will eventually need a stem cell transplant.
00:35The hope was at the end of all of those rounds of chemotherapy that he would be cured or at least in deep remission. Unfortunately that wasn't the case.
00:43His parents are campaigning for more people to join the stem cell donor registry to find him a match, especially those with Chinese and European ancestry like Rowan.
00:55We really need huge numbers of your Asian people to swab but we need huge numbers of every ethnicity to swab.
01:00So it's not just about Rowan, it's about trying to save lots of lives.
01:03If we found that 100% match, it gives him the best possible chance and it puts him in the best possible position of a successful outcome.
01:09Joining the stem cell registry involves doing a quick cheek swab or giving blood.
01:14If you're a match, donation involves having some injections and then getting blood drawn in a process that's similar to a long blood donation session.
01:24The optimal donor is a young person aged 18 to 35.
01:28At Ipswich Grammar these seniors didn't hesitate, hoping to help Rowan or someone else.
01:34I've had a couple of people in my family that have, you know, sadly had cancer in their lives.
01:41Everyone deserves an opportunity to be healthy and live their best life.
01:45Details can be found at the Register for Rowan website.
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