Alea's Story
Register and help Alea celebrate her 3rd birthday!
Alea wants to celebrate her 3rd birthday! It's coming up in July and she would love to enjoy a celebration with friends and family. She would like to join a soccer game in the stadium, just like her dad, and be thrilled by the atmosphere as a little fan. Unfortunately, these experiences have become a distant memory because Alea is fighting blood cancer.
At the end of September 2021, due to an inflammation of the gums, it was discovered by chance that she was suffering from Acute Leukemia. This diagnosis turns Alea and her family's world upside down: "We spent the first few days like in a nightmare. But with our help and that of the hospital staff, Alea fought the cancer. Friends and family stood behind us and gave us strength. The more the chemo pushed the cancer back, the more excited our little sweetheart was. Fortunately, the treatments were successful and the cancer cells were defeated. Alea was allowed to participate more and more in 'normal' everyday life. We were allowed to go home again after a long time. Finally, we could breathe again. Since October, Alea even has a daycare place and would like to meet new friends to play and have fun with!", Alea's parents say.
But the relief did not last long. Alea was repeatedly troubled by abdominal pain and a growing lump on her head. Her parents pushed for intensive medical examinations to find the cause and, unfortunately, their instincts were not mistaken: the cancer was back and this time chemotherapies alone are not enough. A stem cell donation is the only way for Alea to get well again. At this point, things get particularly tricky because the tissue characteristics that are important for finding a donor are inherited and vary from region to region. The perfect match is therefore usually found among people with a similar ethnic background. In Alea's case, this is complex as her mother, Nura, was born in Syria and her father, Maurice, is African American.
The search for the genetic twin is quite difficult! That is also the reason why you are all asked: Tell everyone around you about the possibility of registering as a stem cell donor! Make as much noise for Alea as thousands of fans in the soccer stadiums and register today!