Mackenzie “Mighty Mack” Friedman has found her perfect bone marrow donor, and her doctor is confident the transplant can take place in November.
Johannesburg, South Africa (14 October 2021) – The day has arrived that Mighty Mack’s Army has been holding their breath for; she has found a perfect match, and her bone marrow transplant date has been set! All going well, this is the final phase of her cancer battle before the transplant, which is set in November.
We first shared the Mighty Mack Army’s call to get bone marrow donors on the 17th of May 2021. Now all these months later, her perfect match has been confirmed.
Over the last several months, the Mighty Mack Army has rallied through all her highs and lows, donating blood as often as allowed and hosting bone marrow registration drives in the hopes of finding the person who can help her fight off the last of her cancer.
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 and register as bone marrow donors in honour of her journey.
She has fought tirelessly, defying odds and giving us all hope through these trying times. Her family have worked hard to focus on every positive, regularly providing updates on social media for all those invested in Mighty Macks treatment. They have been honest in during the hard times too.
This morning they shared the best update about Mack’s treatment, and while she has found her match, they hope that people will continue to register as bone marrow donors and blood donors.
“Our real-life superhero, Dr Nadia Beringer (pictured with Mack above), confirmed yesterday that they’ve found and finalised Mack’s match for transplant, which is now set for 25 November
This absolute angel of a person (who we have no further details about) is her PERFECT match! This has answered our prayers, and we truly hope that people continue to register as bone marrow donors, so that the prayers of so many other families can be answered too.
Mack will be admitted to hospital on Monday to undergo another week of IV chemo following a bone marrow extraction, and we are hoping that following this she will be able to take a break from chemo prior to the transplant. This is dependent on the results of her bone marrow extraction next week.
We still have a long road ahead but will continue to focus on the positives, and a 10/10 match, with a donor who is keen to start the process, is a huge win for us all, and a massive step to leaving this cancer journey behind us.”
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.
Minimum Requirements to be a Bone Marrow Donor:
- You are between the ages of 18 and 45 years old.
- You have a minimum weight of 50kgs.
- You have a BMI of around 40 (or lower).
- Potential donors must be in good health and have no condition that donating would adversely affect.
How to become a blood donor
- Register at your nearest blood bank; you can find one via the SANBS website here.
- You can also register at a blood drive near you.
- The SANBS team will do an intake survey with you using the below criteria, and should you qualify, you can donate on that very same day.
Minimum Requirements to be a Blood Donor:
- You are between the ages of 16 and 75 years old, for first-time donors.
- You weigh a minimum of 50 kgs (and platelets a minimum of 55 kgs)
- You are in good health.
- You lead a low-risk lifestyle.
- You consider your blood safe for transfusion.
- You have had a balanced meal within four hours of donating blood.
- You have not donated blood in the last 56 days (and platelets in the last 14 days.)
- Your pulse is between 50-100 regular beats per minute.
- Your blood pressure is below 180 systolic (first number) and below 100 diastolic (second number) (180/100mmHg) and above 100 systolic (first number) and above 60 diastolic (second number) (100/60mmHg).
- Your haemoglobin level is 12.5 g/dL or above.
by 