12 Thursday, June 9, 2011
www.northshoreoutlook.com
A few quick facts about Canada’s stem cell registry: • Fewer than 30 per cent of patients will find a compatible donor from a family member — 70 per cent rely on the generosity of a stranger.
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• There are currently 800 Canadians waiting for a bone marrow or stem cell match that could save their lives. • Although Canada is one of the most ethnically-diverse nations in the world, more than 80 per cent of our national stem cell registry is Caucasian donors. In the past year, OneMatch has worked hard to change that, recruiting more than 3,600 new registrants from non-Caucasian backgrounds.
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Iranian PhD student Mona Zarei, shown before and after being diagnosed with a rare blood disorder. Doctors say Zarei’s only chance of survival is to find a matching bone marrow donor of Persian descent. This weekend, West Van resident Haleh Bahrami hopes to find a match at a donor drive at Park Royal Shopping Centre. Submitted photos
A chance to be a lifesaver West Vancouver resident spearheads stem cell donor drive targeting the North Shore’s Persian community GREG HOEKSTRA S TA F F R E P O RT E R
H
aleh Bahrami still remembers the first time she saw the before and after photographs. In the first picture, a healthy and happy woman in her mid-20s sits upright in a chair smiling. Her cheeks are rosy and her long earrings dangle down toward her floral print dress. In the second, the same woman lays on a hospital bed in a powder blue gown. Her face is grey and gaunt, her eyes are sunken, her lips sagging into a frown. A series of intravenous tubes crisscrosses her chest, while oxygen tubes plug her nose. “It breaks your heart to see it,” says Bahrami. “Right away it hits you. When you look at the photos you think, she has so much life ahead of her. You just want to do all you can to help.” The woman in the photos is 27-year-old Mona Zarei, a young Iranian who had been working toward a PhD in electrical engineering in Florida when she was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder. In the past three years the devastating disease — known as PNH — has forced Zarei to be hospitalized repeatedly. Despite her best efforts to fight the incurable disorder, it gradually led to bone marrow failure. A medical team has concluded that Zarei’s last hope is a bone marrow transplant, but after searching several bone marrow banks, doctors have been unable to find a successful match. Because there is a higher chance of finding a match among people of the same ethnicity, Bahrami — a West Vancouver resident who
works as a production manager with Canadian Blood Services — has organized a stem cell drive this Saturday, June 11, aimed at the North Shore’s large Iranian population. Currently, only 635 Canadians of West Asian descent are registered in the national stem cell network — representing just 0.2 per cent of registered donors. “Obviously that’s very low and not representative of the larger population,” Bahrami says. “We need to get the word out. Raising the awareness in the community is just as important as getting the right donor.” Bahrami says similar events in the past have been successful in raising awareness among other ethnicities, such as Canada’s Chinese and East Indian communities. And, so far, it looks as though the donor drive in West Vancouver could have quite the impact. On Facebook, roughly 1,200 people have registered for the event, which takes place June 11 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. outside the London Drugs at Park Royal Shopping Centre. “Hopefully people come out and learn more about being a stem cell donor,” says Bahrami. “It’s so important for people who are in need... this is their last chance at life. Doctors have exhausted every other option.” For more info on stem cell donation, stop by Saturday’s event at Park Royal or visit www.onematch.ca. You can also read more about Mona Zarei and Saturday’s event by searching for the event “Help me save Mona’s Life” on Facebook.
ghoekstra@northshoreoutlook.com twitter.com/greghoekstra
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