Fantastic news! ‘Mighty Mack’ finds a bone marrow match
Dr Nadia Berringer found a match and her transplant is set for 25 November!
The four-month-old fighter, known as “Mighty Mack”, was in need of a bone marrow transplant match.
Mackenzie (Mack) was formally diagnosed with Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) a few months ago.
READ: READ: Mighty Mack’s parents are engaged!
Earlier this week, we spoke to Mack’s mom, Megan Harrington-Johnson, after their very special engagement on Friday. Now the family has received more good news.
The family shared the wonderful news on Instagram: “She has found a perfect match, which has answered our prayers, and we truly hope that people continue to register as bone marrow donors, so that the prayers of so many other families can be answered too.”
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What happens next?
Mack will be admitted to hospital on Monday to undergo another week of IV chemo following a bone marrow extraction. They are hoping that following this she will be able to take a break from chemo prior to the transplant. This is dependent on the results of her bone marrow extraction next week.
We are so happy about the news and cannot wait to meet the brave fighter soon!
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Here's how you can be part of the The South African Bone Marrow Registry:
The South African Bone Marrow Registry has given more details as to what the process is.
The application process:
2. Complete Health Questionnaire
3. If eligible SABMR will make arrangements for cheek swab to be done all free of charge (courier or at one of our depots)
If you are a matched donor, you will undergo a full medical examination to determine your health status and assess whether you are at any risk during the donation process.
Head of Donor Recruitment, Nadia Chalkley, says: “Once medically cleared to proceed, the donor will receive a five-day course of daily injections to increase the number of stem cells in their blood stream. On the fifth day of the injections, the donor will be admitted to a medical facility and be connected to a cell separator machine. The machine takes blood from the donor, removes the cells needed for the transplant, and returns the remaining cells to the donor’s body.“
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