ATLANTA (WHNT) — An Atlanta family with Huntsville ties is raising awareness of the urgent need for bone marrow donors as they search for a perfect match for their two-year-old son.
Doctors diagnosed Sterling Pace with mixed-phenotype acute leukemia in September, and they say his case is especially rare.
“The doctor called and told Sterling that Baby Sterling had cancer. I fell to the ground. I was actually nine months pregnant when this happened, so I went into labor 12 hours after Sterling was diagnosed,” Sterling’s Mom Kiley Pace said.
At this point, a bone marrow transplant is his best chance for survival.
Sterling and Kiley Pace say the search for a donor has been eye-opening, and there’s a need for urgent donors. It’s why they’re raising awareness about the donor process and the first steps in joining the NMDP Registry: a simple swab skit.
“You order this swab kit…all expenses paid…30 seconds and then you put it in an envelope and send it back. You’re in the registry and you can save someone’s life,” Sterling Pace said.
You can also donate bone marrow through umbilical cord blood. Cord blood, which is left in the umbilical cord and placenta and contains blood-forming cells, is usually thrown away after the birth of a baby but can be instead stored and used later by a patient who needs it. It’s an option not always available in all hospitals, but when possible…it’s free and offered to new moms.
“Last year, there were 3.6 million births…3,000 cord bloods were donated. It’s as simple as telling your labor and delivery doctor that you would like to donate your child’s cord blood. They put it in a bank and it’s available for adults and children who are in need of a transplant,” Pace said.
Right now, Sterling is home recovering as his body regains…
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