Durban mom desperate to find bone marrow donor to save her 6-year-old daughter’s life | News24

Gugu Mkhulisi, said that as a mother “all you want to do is to help and protect your child.”

• Six-year-old Fanele Memela has been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia and is in need of a bone marrow donor.
• The Durban girl is currently undergoing intensive chemotherapy until a suitable donor is available for her.
• SABMR said they have since activated a nationwide search to find a suitable donor for her. 

A Durban family are desperately trying to find a bone marrow donor for their six-year-old daughter after she was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia in March.

Fanele Memela is in desperate need of a stem cell transplant that could save her life.

The family said that none of its members were viable bone marrow stem cell donor matches for Fanele.

Fanele’s mom Gugu Mkhulisi said that, as a mother, “all you want to do is to help and protect your child”.

“However, in this instance, there’s very little I can do. I must rely on the generosity and goodwill of others out there that are willing to see if they are a donor.” 

A visibly teary-eyed Mkhulisi, who is a medical doctor, said it broke her heart when the doctors shared the news that none of the family offered a good enough match.

“While this journey has been tough, it has opened my eyes to so much that I didn’t know about. I have learned about the dire shortage of black donors on the registry, which makes it so difficult for children like Fanele to get the help she so desperately needs.”

Fanele Memela,6, is in desperate need of a stem cell transplant that could save her life.

Photo Supplied

Fanele is currently undergoing chemotherapy until a matching donor is found.

The South African Bone Marrow Registry (SABMR) has activated a nationwide search to find a suitable donor.

Ramping up its donor recruitment efforts, the organisation hopes to give the little girl a second chance.

According to the SABMR, black donors make up a mere 10% of registered donors. That means there is a slim chance of finding a match for Fanele and others like her. 

It said that a patient’s best chance of finding a match was within their own ethnic group.

The lack of donors of colour is not unique to South Africa. Globally, there was a 27% chance of people of colour finding a match, compared to that of Europeans who had a 70% chance of finding a comparable tissue match, SABMR said.

SABMR Sustainability and Donor Recruitment Coordinator for KwaZulu-Natal, Kapil Premchand, said that around 200 cases were referred to the SABMR annually, and the goal was to eventually be able to assist every patient. 

“Our mission is to save as many lives as possible. Often, we find ourselves in a position where there is no suitable match, as is in Fanele’s case, but this doesn’t deter our efforts. Our mission is to save as many lives as possible. Often, we find ourselves in a position where there is no suitable match, as is in Fanele’s case, but this doesn’t deter our efforts,” said Premchand.

A campaign had since been launched on Backabuddy to raise R500 000 to help get as many black donors as possible between the ages of 16 and 45 to sign up for the registry, added Premchand.

Fenele and her six month old brother.

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Mkhulisi, who refers to her daughter as a “superhero,” said she still had many aspirations and high hopes that she would get the second chance she wishes for.

“Her future aspirations change as often as the weather. She has recently decided that she no longer wants to be a doctor (like me), but rather a singer. She loves her little brother who is six months old, and I would like for her to be around to spend many more years with him as they already share such a special bond.”

She appealed to fellow black South Africans to become bone marrow stem cell donors.

“It only takes three minutes to sign up and, if you’re a match, the stem cell donation process is very similar to giving blood, and all the costs are covered by the registry.”