Caden Moore was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder, with his brother Ben being a match and donating his stem cells
A NI mum has opened up on her son’s diagnosis with a rare blood disorder and how his brother saved his life.
Teacher Sabrina Moore’s son Caden was diagnosed with Very Severe Aplastic Anaemia (VSAA) in 2017 when he was 6-years-old. He was in urgent need of a stem cell transplant.
The Ballymoney women’s older son Ben, who was 10 at the time, was a match and donated stem cells to his brother.
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Speaking to Belfast Live, Sabrina said: “Caden was diagnosed in 2017 with a very rare blood disorder called Very Severe Aplastic Anaemia. We had never heard of anything like this before, the doctors sort of told us that they thought it was leukaemia, but then actually when they looked into it a little bit more, they found it was this.
“It’s very rare, I suppose what that is, your bone marrow completely breaks down, so you’re not able to make any of your basic blood cells to stay alive, like red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets.
“He was bleeding internally… he couldn’t fight any type of infection… a very small thing like a cold was very dangerous for him.”
The mum-of-three said Caden’s diagnosis “was such a shock” to the family.
Sabrina said: “We’re a very sporty, active family, never had any illnesses or sickness. He was going out to scouts, his hockey, his football, and he started to become a little bit tired in the evenings… then he started to show bruises and things.
“We thought ‘it’s just him, he’s so active, he’s so into everything’, but then eventually we found bruises where we shouldn’t have bruises, and that’s when the alarm bells started to ring and we contacted the doctor.”
The Ballymoney woman told how “his brother saved his life”.
Sabrina explained: “When they told us that obviously we needed a donor to sort of save Caden’s life, my husband Bryan and I straight away said ‘We’ll do it’. Unfortunately that’s not the way the process works, they said we couldn’t do it, but they would start a worldwide search for him. They said ‘we can test his siblings because they can be a match’, but they did tell us that it was a very small chance.
“Ben was only 10 at the time, and Kaia was only 12. We basically came home that night from the hospital and explained to them the process. We told them it was totally up to them if they wanted to be tested, or not be tested, but the two of them just straight away were like, ‘We’ll be tested’.”
In a statement, the mum-of-three added: “The wait was unbearable. We were told not to get our hopes up, as the odds of a family match were low. But then we got the call: Caden’s big brother was a full match. The relief was overwhelming. We were one of the lucky ones.
“This experience completely changed our view of donors. Before, the need for donors was an abstract concept; now, it’s personal. It taught us that the person who can save a life might be closer than you think. Every single person on that registry is a potential miracle for a family like ours – and that selfless act from a donor is truly a gift of life.”
On how Caden is now, Sabrina told Belfast Live: “He’s good now, we have a few complications, he has to take immunoglobulin weekly to fight infection.
“He’s a very strong, healthy boy and just gets on as best as he can with life.”
Sabrina is a PE teacher at Limavady Grammar School, with Caden being a current pupil at the school. Students and staff are stepping up to give more people with blood cancer a second chance at life, partnering with blood cancer charity DKMS for a big stem cell donor drive this weekend.
A statement from the charity said: “For patients with blood cancer or other blood disorders, a stem cell transplant from a matching donor can be life-saving and may be their only opportunity for a second chance. Most patients don’t have a match in their family, and just 7% of the eligible population in the UK are signed up to the register.
“Right now, only 6 in 10 patients find the matching donor they desperately need, and there are around 2,000 people in the UK waiting to find their donor.”
It added: “The school is organising a stem cell donor drive as part of the DKMS Big Cheekender , which is taking place across the UK this weekend. To mark the end of Blood Cancer Awareness Month, events are happening over the country, getting people to come forward and do a cheek swab so that they can be added to the stem cell donor register. The school will hold a drive for staff and students on Friday, before welcoming in the wider public to visit the school and complete a cheek swab from 10am-4pm on Saturday 27 September.”
DKMS spokesperson, Bronagh Hughes, said: “The staff and students of Limavady Grammar School are absolutely amazing. It’s great to see such a strong community, which, when touched by blood cancer and disorders, has decided to come together to support more patients who are still waiting for their match. Every new person who joins the register is a potential lifesaver, so please come down to the school on Saturday to get signed up. It only takes a few minutes, and some simple cheek swabs.”
Mrs Moore said: “I want everyone to understand how easy this process is.
“A few minutes of your time today could mean a lifetime for someone else – a chance to grow up, create memories, have a family, and grow old with the people they love. It’s also easy to think that something like this will never come to your door, but unfortunately, that’s not the case. We were that family. I was that person. You’ll be surprised at how straightforward it is. Your choice to sign up could be the miracle a family like mine is waiting for.”
Anyone aged 17-55 and in general good health can sign up with a few simple mouth swabs. If you can’t attend the event, you can order your swab kit online, visit dkms.org.uk.
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