KINGWOOD, Texas - It takes less than five minutes to join a bone marrow registry. If you are a match, you could end up saving a life.
That’s why 7-year-old James Strejc is healthy today. The Kingwood boy was diagnosed with Leukemia at 18 months old.
“He was very tired and he had uncontrollable fevers. We were giving him Motrin and Tylenol, and nothing was keeping his high fevers under control,” said Stephanie Strejc, his mother.
James went through six rounds of chemotherapy. After five months in remission, he relapsed with a brain tumor.
Doctors told the family James needed a bone marrow transplant.
“It’s rare that parents are good matches. There’s only 25 percent chance a sibling would be, and at this point, he was an only child. We knew we were going to have to be dependent on a complete stranger,” Strejc said.
It turns out that complete stranger was Kayla Hammergren, a 23-year-old college student living in Boston. She happened to be on the Gift of Life Marrow Registry, and she answered the call to donate.
Hammergren signed up for a registry at a BC recruitment drive in 2013, reports CBS Boston. James received his bone marrow transplant in December of that year.
“After about a month, he got a lot better quickly,” said Nick Strejc, James’ father.
“It was the ultimate cure for him, getting that bone marrow. Getting the new bone marrow is what saved his life. That’s why he’s perfectly healthy now,” said Stephanie.
The Strejc’s decided to share their story, so more people learn about the importance of joining bone marrow registries.
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