27 December 2023 , 23:45
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A seriously ill boy, aged 10, will get a potentially life-saving transplant, nearly 4,000 miles from home – thanks to the Mirror.
We teamed up with blood cancer charity DKMS after hearing of the plight of Jasper Makungu, who has sickle cell disease and needs a bone marrow transplant from a donor. We were told about the sick boy by his dad Jackson, 46, who was digging for scrap lead on a windswept, disused mine dump in Kabwe, Zambia – identified as the most toxic town on Earth. Jackson was scavenging for the metal, which sells for just 68p a bag, to feed his family.
Dad Jackson Makungu told The Mirror he was in a desperate fight to help his son Jasper (Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)He explained his first-born, Jackson jr, was just five when he had died of the condition. DKMS spoke to their experts in South Africa, Germany and Bangalore, India, about Jasper’s case and did tests on his sisters Ruby, five, and Mercy, 16. Both sisters were a match but Mercy was picked due to her age.
Now, Jasper, Mercy and teacher mum Carol, 41, hope to make an epic journey from Kabwe to Bangalore for the transplant within weeks. Jackson said: “I am so glad that the Mirror came into our lives. This gives my son the chance of life.”
Jasper will have to spend several weeks in isolation to see if the transplant has been a success, but he was in a good mood when he spoke to the Mirror on his 10th birthday, just before Christmas. He said: “I’m not at school, so I am going to play with my friends. I am very pleased about the operation and hope it will make me well. Thank you.”
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Mercy said it was a privilege and an honour that she has a chance to save her brother’s life. Mercy, like all her family, has been on a plane and is excited to see India. She wants to become a doctor and said: “It will be a very good experience for me to see the hospital. I’ve researched where we are going to be and on the whole transplant process. It is a really straightforward, simple procedure for me. I will recover very quickly.”
Jasper and his mum Carol, 41, a teacher will fly to India along with his sister Mercy, 16 (Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)
Jasper's sister Mercy, 16, said it was an honour to help her brother (Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)Caroline Richardson, DKMS’s head of fundraising in the UK, said she felt for Jackson as he could not afford for Jasper to have a transplant abroad. She said: “DKMS will not rest until everyone worldwide has equal access to a stem cell transplant if they need one.
“The more people who register as blood stem cell donors, the better the chance of finding a match for someone in need of a transplant.” Worldwide, DKMS has more than 12 million potential blood stem cell donors, and has given more than 110,000 second chances at life.
The Mirror's Jeremy Armstrong spoke with Jackson Makungu at the toxic lead mine in Kabwe (Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)Yet just 3 per cent of the UK’s population are registered as potential donors. And a tiny proportion of these are from minority ethnic communities. Ms Richardson said: “For our donors, it is life changing. They say they’ve never done anything as important in their lives. It is the most precious gift, the most they’ve actually given someone a second chance.”
Sickle cell disease is a genetic condition which affects about 17,000 people in the UK. Sticky and rigid, the sickle-shaped cells clog the blood vessels and damage organs. Some with the disease will die in childhood while others suffer several very painful episodes each year.
The only long-term treatment involves a bone marrow transplant. Although a new drug, Casgevy, has been successful in reversing the impact of the disease. Deborah Hyde, of DKMS UK, said joining its register is easy if you are aged 17 to 55 and in reasonably good health. “It it is just like giving blood. You could end up saving someone’s life.”
- To register or donate go to dkms.org.uk.