Cord Blood Transplant Could Help Cure Fanconi Anemia
Last Christmas, the son of Jimbo Fisher, coach of the Florida State football team, was diagnosed with Fanconia Anemia. The rare bone marrow disorder affects 1 in every 300,000 children, and those who go without a stem cell transplant are likely to succumb to the disease before they reach middle age.
Upon hearing the diagnosis, the Fisher family thought that six-year-old Ethan had received a death sentence. However, a visit to Dr. Margaret MacMillan at the Amplatz Children's Hospital in Minnesota has provided them with hope.
She informed the Fishers that Ethan had high chances of survival if he could find a stem cell donor. The family first tested his older brother, Trey, but the ten-year-old was not a match. When the time comes for Ethan to have a transplant, the family will have to search the National Bone Marrow Registry for a donor.
Cord blood is also an option for young Ethan. Bone marrow transplants require a perfectly matched donor in order to be successful, but cord blood stem cell transplants do not require a precise match. As such, Ethan's chances of finding a cord blood donor may be much higher.
As a result of the tragedy his family is experiencing, Jimbo and his wife have started a fight for the cause. The Fisher family has established the Kidz 1st Fund, a charity that seeks to raise money for Fanconi Anemia research.