Hopes rise for Kemal transplant

A POSSIBLE bone marrow donor for 10-year-old Turkish Cypriot leukaemia sufferer Kemal Saracoglu has been found in Greece, an official of the Bone Marrow Registry in Athens confirmed yesterday.

The official said a sample had already been sent to the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Bank in London for further detailed examination. This is the second stage in the procedure for confirmation of a compatible donor, she said.

Kemal Saracoglu has been receiving treatment in a London Hospital for several months now. His case and that of six-year-old Greek Cypriot Andreas Vassiliou stirred thousands of people on both sides of the island to give blood in the search for a compatible donor.

It also emerged yesterday that a British donor had been found for another young leukaemia sufferer, a boy from Ypsonas near Limassol. Neophytos Nicolaou is today flying to London for the bone marrow transplant.

Kemal’s father Suhar, speaking to London Greek Radio, said yesterday that there were two more compatible donors for his son in Turkey and that all samples would be checked at the Bone Marrow Bank.

"The campaign should go on," Saracoglu said, adding that even if it did not help his son "there is still Andreas and a lot of other people who would benefit."

A matching donor has not yet been found for Andreas, who is currently undergoing chemotherapy in the United States.

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