A worldwide search is underway to find a stem cell donor for 16-year-old Leo Sproson, who is fighting for his life against a rare form of leukaemia. The teenager from Bromsgrove in the Midlands urgently needs a transplant to give him a fighting chance at survival.
A Family's Race Against Time
Leo's parents, Jenna Elwell and Warren Sproson, have joined forces with the blood cancer charity DKMS in a desperate race against time. Their son has already endured one round of chemotherapy and faces another this month. "It kills all the cancer in your blood but in Leo's case he needs a stem cell transplant to give him a fighting chance afterwards," his mother Jenna explained.
Leo's situation is particularly complex because he has also battled liver disease since he was 12, which has severely weakened his immune system. He is currently in isolation at a Birmingham hospital, vulnerable to infections, as the search for a compatible donor intensifies.
The Heartbreaking Diagnosis
The family's world was shattered when Leo was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia at age 16, just four years after he suffered liver failure days after his 12th birthday. "I remember the doctor telling me, and I just burst into tears in the hallway," Jenna recalled. "My heart was broken, my world just fell apart."
Despite the devastating news, Leo has shown incredible resilience. "He has taken it like a champ," said Jenna. "He has been ill for so long and yet he is always trying to make us laugh. Considering what he is going through, he is really funny."
How You Can Help Save Lives
With no siblings who could be a natural match, Leo's hope lies with a stranger somewhere in the world. A stem cell donor registration event will be held on Sunday, November 23, from 11am to 4pm, at St Godwald's church hall in Bromsgrove.
Bronagh Hughes, a spokesperson for DKMS, emphasised that the right person joining the register "could give Leo his life back." The statistics are sobering: blood cancers are the third most common cause of cancer death in the UK, claiming nearly 13,000 lives annually. At any given time, around 2,000 people in the UK need a stem cell transplant.
Jenna holds onto hope, not just for her son but for others: "If we cannot find a match for Leo but find other donors, at least they may help others in the same position as him." Those unable to attend the local event can order a swab kit online at dkms.org.uk.
