Little fighter Mighty Mack fought her way out of the ICU after an infection and now she needs help fighting her biggest battle yet!
Johannesburg, South Africa (01 June 2021) – Little Mackenzie Friedman, affectionately known as Mighty Mack, was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) on Wednesday, 12th of May 2021, her story has touched the hearts of South Africans and mobilised many to donate blood in honour of her journey.
We shared her story after an entire community was mobilised to donate blood as she was in need of blood transfusions. Sadly her medical case changed since we shared her story , and her Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) had been diagnosed as high risk.
Might Mack sadly found herself fighting infection and ended up in the ICU. Now that she has healed enough and her blood results show her infection count is down, she can head back to her normal ward.
The good news is she is better but she still needs help fighting her Leukaemia. This means a bone marrow match needs to be found as soon as possible!
How to become a registered donor
- Register Online at www.dkms-africa.org (formally known as The Sunflower Fund) or www.sabmr.co.za.
- You will be notified if you qualify to be a donor by working through their lists.
- No blood or needles involved, just a cheek swab.
- Registering is free of charge.
The family also asks for continued blood and platelet donations as Mack has several pipes and tubes attached and she would lose more blood than she can afford to.
“Without the platelets, Mack would basically bleed out with all the different pipes and needles she has going into her at the moment, so they are critical. Please please please continue with your blood and platelet donations. And of course don’t forget to register for bone marrow donation. Thank you all so much.” – Bronson Friedman, Mack’s Dad.
There have been some delays in the bone marrow test kits going out, the Friedman’s have been working with DKMS and have even set up bone marrow drives in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. If you have not yet got a bone marrow swab kit, you can go get your swabs registered at the below drives.
KZN Office based in Westville Durban:
97 Jan Hofmeyr Road
Dawncrest
Westville, 3630
Contact no: 031 266 1148
Western Cape Office based in Century City:
Block C, Grosvenor Square
Century Way
Century City
Cape Town ,7441
Contact no: 021 701 0661
Gauteng Office based in Randburg:
Shop U4C
Ferndale on Republic
Republic Road
Randburg, 2194
Contact no:
011 7814026
Hours: Monday to Friday – 10:00 am – 3:30 pm – people can sign up during these hours. This does also apply to people who have been trying to register online and have not yet received their swab kits.
“Mack needs her bone marrow transplant urgently, so please please please get to one one the donor centers as soon as possible.”
You can stay updated on her daily progress by following the Mighty Mack Instagram here. The more people who help by registering, the more people who have the chance of saving the life of someone in need of a bone marrow match.
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