Ann O’Leary (Anthony Nolan project) with Mark, Daniel and Viv Chisterman and Organiser Jenna Wirght at the Donor Drive in the St Macartins Church Hall. Daniel is waiting for a bone marrow transplant
AN ENNISKILLEN family has said they are overwhelmed by the response from local people who turned out in force to help save the life of their seriously ill cousin.
Jenna White, 29, hosted a donor drive on Saturday to help find the life-saving bone marrow treatment her eight-year-old cousin Daniel Chesterman desperately needs.
Daniel suffers from aplastic anaemia which means his body doesn’t produce enough white blood cells to support his immune system.
A bone marrow transplant is the nine-year-old’s only hope of a cure and doctors believe the boy, who is from Essex in England, stands a better chance of finding a match in Fermanagh.
Young Daniel is like any other young active boy who likes to play sport with his friends but his life is now filled with drug treatments and monthly blood transfusions.
His family hope his close links to Enniskillen will help find a life-saving match and following the large turn out to St Macartin’s Cathedral Hall, Jenna is very optimistic that a 100 per cent match will be found.
Speaking to the Fermanagh Herald, Jenna said: “About 64 people came to the donor drive and more took leaflets home so they could register later.
“People from all over the county came and even a couple from Strabane showed up after they heard about it on the news which was so nice of them.
“There was a fantastic showing from Fermanagh people, a lot more than we ever expected, we were afraid that no one would go so it was a bonus for us.
“Vivenne (Daniel’s mother) got a bit upset when she saw a group of young boys in their late teens and early 20s arrive as that’s the perfect age-group she was hoping for.
“Dan’s parents paid for the whole event so we are planning on hosting fund-raising events to give them the money back and help pay for further fund-raisers.
“His parents were overwhelmed at the response and so happy with the amount of people there.
“In the run-up to the event we left flyers in shops like Tesco and Dunnes to encourage more people to show up.
“Saturday workers came up in their lunch breaks too and we made them tea and coffee and there were a few that came off the street.
“He will now have a better chance of finding a match because of the people that were registered.”
The family now have an agonising two month wait to establish whether a match has been found following the donor drive.
A previous donor search found a woman in the US with a 90% match, but the family are hoping to find a 100% match to prolong his young life.
Ms White added: “At the moment he is going for a full blood transfusion every month so he needs a bone marrow transplant very soon.
“The operation will make him very sick but he will need to get it done.”
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