In search of a compatible marrow donor for Marc

Some parents of Maçanet de la Selva (La Selva, Girona) are looking for a compatible bone marrow donor for your 13-year-old son, because the family have already been tested and are not. Marc Veguillas Béjar has been admitted to the Vall d’Hebron Hospital in Barcelona since September 3, 2021, after he was diagnosed with severe spinal aplasia. This sickness affects the production of platelets and white and red blood cells -which in his case is almost nil- and the body is left unprotected. “Any injury could be harmful because he has no defenses,” explains his mother, Natàlia Béjar.

After taking the tests and being informed that they were incompatible, the Veguillas Béjar family has started an appeal for the people go donate marrow and try to find one for Marc. “If we don’t find one for our son, we’ll find another one,” says Béjar. And he adds: “Until you are here in the hospital, you do not find out how many minors there are waiting for a bone marrow transplant.” In Maçanet, a group of family and friends are making banners to give them support and encourage neighbors to become donors. Also the mayor, Natàlia Figueras, is echoing to launch a campaign.

Every year 6,400 people are diagnosed with leukemia in Spain and only 1 in 4 have compatible relatives. The rest need an altruistic donation. The good news is that actual bone marrow donations in the state have increased sevenfold in the last ten years and this is mainly due to the increase in donors.

How to become a donor

Become bone marrow donor it is relatively straightforward. First you have to enroll in the Bone Marrow Donor Registry (REDMO) of the Josep Carreras Foundation. You must be between 18 and 40 years old and have a blood drawn. Once this step is carried out, the donor becomes part of REDMO, where it appears until the age of 60. This registry, which is updated every Monday, can be consulted around the world to find a compatible marrow for the patient. If found, the person is summoned to do the bone marrow extraction. The donor will regenerate the marrow completely, can give several times and is not dangerous.

They appeared purple

Marc’s disease was detected a few months ago for about purples that the adolescent had all over his body. The mother explains that at first they did not give him importance, because he played as a soccer goalkeeper and received constant blows from the ball. Realizing that he had them on his skin for months, they went for tests.

The first check-up was done at the Hospital de Santa Caterina in Girona. “There they informed us that the diagnosis was between three options: leukemia, marrow aplasia or a viral condition in the marrow “. And they were referred to the Vall d’Hebron Hospital. “We took a load off ourselves when they told us it was not leukemia, but at the same time you don’t know what aplasia is.” Béjar chose not to consult anything on the internet “and only listen to what the doctors tell us.”

Go out from the hospital

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Since joining, Marc has not been able to leave the hospital. And you won’t be able to do it if you can’t find one marrow compatible with yours and the body does not reject it. The luck, says the mother, is that Marc “is physically well”. For now and as an interim solution, Marc receives weekly platelet and blood cell transfusions at the hospital. “Until he finds a donor, he will not be able to lead a normal life.”

“Emotionally, we take it badly. But we feel very accompanied here in the hospital.” Apart from the doctor, they have psychological support and there are also teachers who help the child to follow the school year and complete all the work sent to him from his institute.