A Northern Irish family seeking a bone marrow transplant for their 14-year-old son is calling on Irish-Americans to register as bone marrow donors and potentially provide life-saving treatment.
Daniel Greer, 14, from Newry in County Down, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in June and has recently completed 10 back-to-back days of intensive chemotherapy.
AML is an aggressive form of cancer and has spread rapidly, leaving Daniel in need of a bone marrow transplant to help fight it.
However, the chance of getting a bone marrow match is estimated to be about one in 10 million, prompting Daniel's family to ask people to register as donors to improve his chances of finding a match.
"Please, please, PLEASE take the time to go to the link below or go online to the DKMS website to register as a donor. It can take up to 8 weeks from registering to actually be placed on the register, so we need you to register NOW!" His family said on the Do It For Daniel website.
"It only takes 2 minutes to register and have a swab kit sent out to you. The swab sample only takes 5 minutes to do."
The family is now turning their focus on the Irish abroad and is "calling on all Irish in America" to register as donors.
The DKMS charity told the BBC that it had seen an "incredible spike" of people registering as a donor since Daniel's family launched the campaign last month.
Typically, the charity receives between five and ten new donors from Northern Ireland each week, but it reported that about 8,800 people from the region registered as potential stem cell donors in the final week of June.
"We have seen an incredible spike in the number of registrations from Northern Ireland as a result of the Greer family sharing Daniel's story," Reshna Radiven, head of communications and engagement at DKMS, told the BBC.
"We have seen 8,826 registrations for stem cell donations in a week, compared to a typical week of five to 10 registrations from Northern Ireland.
"We would actively encourage anyone who has registered to return the home swabbing kit as soon as possible."
Radiven said young men aged between 18 and 30 are often selected as the first choice of donor and encouraged anyone in that age group to register with the charity.
"We have been touched by Daniel's story, he is young and it is upsetting but there is an opportunity for him to live a normal life again if we can find a matching donor."
The process of becoming a donor involves a simple cheek swab with the results kept on a register.
Daniel visited his GP in June after complaining of neck and back pains. He was diagnosed with leukemia after undergoing blood tests.
Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster, Daniel's mother Anne likened the diagnosis to "waking up in a nightmare".
"To be told that your child has a potentially fatal illness, and you are looking at a well boy who climbs the Mourne Mountains, is an avid sportsperson, loves sailing, diving, swimming, kayaking, rugby and you are sitting looking at him going 'they have got this wrong'," Anne told BBC Radio Ulster.
"It's emotional, it is really hard to see your child sick and feel that you can't do anything for him."
Anne said Daniel had also received numerous blood and platelet transfusions since his diagnosis.
"I would appeal for anybody that is eligible to please sign up to the bone marrow registry and if you are not eligible for one reason or the other for that, even people who are ordinary blood donors or platelet donors."
To find out more about Daniel's story, click here.
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