Your Stories

A few months ago, 1 year old Damario Thomas had weeks to live.  He was diagnosed with a very rare form of Leukaemia and had a one hundred thousand to one chance of finding a suitable donor.

Damario

Thankfully, Damario beat the odds when a donor was found.  His family are now able to look forward to bright future.

“I’m really, really grateful if it hadn’t  been for that young man who donated his bone marrow to save Damario’s life he wouldn’t be here today”, explains mother Floretta

Sadly unlike Damario, there are still many people of African heritage still facing those staggering odds of finding a suitable bone marrow donor.

sufferers

Orin Lewis is the founder of the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT).  The Croydon based charity has been working to increase the number of African and Caribbean people on the bone marrow register for over a decade.

“Hopefully when people see him [Damario] they can relate to this little child and think that thank God someone did step forward.

You know that at the other end of the scale, there’s someone who’s not going to make it”, says Orin.

At this time of the year and with a future full of optimism ahead, the Thomas family also want to urge more black and other ethnic minority people to register as potential bone marrow donors.

To enjoy Damario’s celebrations, click onto the video above.