Cape Town - The South African Bone Marrow Registry (SABR) is urging people of colour to get tested in order to save the life of 14-month-old Gracelyn ‘Gracey’ Green from Atlantis.
Little Gracey was diagnosed in August last year with juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia (JMML) – a rare cancer of the blood that affects young children, and her only chance of survival is a stem cell transplant.
Zaahier Isaacs, Acting Head of Patient Services for the SABMR, said Gracey is classified as an emergency transplant case which means there’s no time to waste.
“In most cases, family members, especially siblings, are generally most suitable, but even then, only 30% of patients are lucky enough to find a suitable match among their relatives. That’s why we must cast the net wider to the public to find the best possible match.
“Due to the family’s financial circumstances, all testing and collection of stem cells will be funded via the SABMR’s Patient Assistance Programme, so they don’t need to be burdened further with any medical expenses. Everything is in place. Now we just need a donor match,” Isaacs said.
In order to register as a donor, all you need to do is take a cheek swab test to see if you’re a match. It is free of charge.
Brave little Gracey has already endured three rounds of chemotherapy, but it has been unsuccessful.
While relatives try to be strong for Gracey, the family has had to endure tragedy more than most, and the little girl’s diagnosis has made them even more determined not to lose her.
On June 4, 2021, Gracey’s mother, Shanique Green, 20, and three others perished when their family home was gutted by a fire.
Gracey was only five months old at the time.
The brave young mom managed to hand Gracey over to someone through the window as she went back into the home to try and save a relative.
Gracey now only has her father, Lorenzo Erasmus, and her aunt, Lizel Solomons, who has taken her as her own.
Erasmus said it was hard coming to terms with Shanique’s death, and hearing Gracey’s diagnosis on top of that was just too much to bear.
The young father said doctors couldn't ascertain how long his daughter would live.
“Doctors aren’t certain how long she will live without a transplant, but our focus right now is to find the best match. The better the match, the better her survival rate after the procedure,” Erasmus said.
Solomons said symptoms first appeared in July when she noticed the baby’s unusually swollen tummy.
She immediately followed her gut and took Gracey to a doctor, an ambulance was dispatched, and they were rushed to Red Cross Memorial Children’s Hospital.
Solomons said she knew something was terribly wrong.
“A series of tests showed that Gracey had an enlarged spleen, liver and lymph nodes, which eventually led to a JMML diagnosis. It happens when certain white blood cells, called monocytes and myelocytes, don’t mature as they should.
“This can either happen suddenly or can be associated with other genetic disorders in some children. In Gracey’s case, it’s linked to the former.
“Since the diagnosis, she’s been on several chemotherapy drugs to slow the spread of cancer cells and has undergone chemo without any improvement, so now our only hope is a stem cell transplant,” Solomons said.
She told IOL she and Gracey are in hospital every third week, for a duration of just under two weeks.
Gracey started her chemotherapy in November, but in between, the young girl has been hospitalised a number of times due to infections, growing ulcers and blood ulcers.
The brave little girl even spent her first birthday and New Year’s in hospital.
“According to her doctors, she has pain all the time. Her body aches, and she might not always cry because her brain has already been wired to cope with the pain.
“She has been through a lot. She has had some close calls. I can be grateful for one thing: I think God gave me this gift (I think) to always check her and be able to notice when something goes wrong.
“I can just thank God for showing me when something is not right and when checking with doctors, they would say well done. Thank you for bringing it. You shouldn’t have waited,” Solomons told IOL.
She said it had been quite a tough journey.
“I was hopeful the chemotherapy would help, but I will not give up. The doctors are sceptical of finding a donor for her. I cannot just sit back and do nothing.
“I have to do something. There must be something that can help her.
“Her life is important to us. Yes, her mommy left this earth suddenly, but she left us with a precious gift, and we have to ensure we do everything we can to keep her healthy and alive.
“I don’t know what it would do to all of us if anything should happen to Gracelyn.
“I feel like we’ve lost so much already. I feel if anything should happen to her, it would break this family. It would break us all. There’s just no way. We have to find a way,” Solomons said.
Solomons, who is also a mother to a young boy, is pleading with members of the public to assist in getting Gracey the help she needs by registering as a donor.
“My plea is to everyone in our community to help find a donor for our little angel. There’s a match waiting for Gracey, but time is running out. We need every single person who can, to register as a donor. If anyone deserves a second chance, Gracey does.
According to the SABMR, people of colour are heavily under-represented in the registry, and it is therefore much more difficult for patients with a diverse ethnic heritage to find a matching donor.
Isaacs says Gracey’s chance of finding a match is about one in 100 000, but the SABMR remains hopeful.
“The likelihood of people from mixed ethnic backgrounds finding a successful match is a mere 37% compared to patients from European descent whose chances are 72%.
“The procedure to donate stem cells is non-invasive and takes less than a few minutes to sign up on our website: https://sabmr.co.za/. Anyone in good health, between the ages of 16 and 45 can register,” he said.
A special Donor Drive will be held for little Gracey on Saturday, February 26, at the Atlantis City Mall, Wesfleur Circle in Atlantis, from 10am until 4pm.
Cape Town residents and those in surrounding areas are encouraged to sign up to help save Gracey’s life.