Eesa was in his first term of school when his parents noticed him becoming tired and pale. Just months later his parents were told that Eesa had aplastic anaemia, an acute blood disorder which is diagnosed in just 100-150 people a year in the UK. Eesa’s family were told that he would need a stem cell transplant – a treatment to replace his blood stem cells with new, healthy stem cells from a suitable donor.
A match was eventually found and Eesa is recovering well after his transplant. But after his diagnosis, Eesa’s dad Mosan and the wider family and friends worked tirelessly to sign up more people to the stem cell register.
A matching donor is more likely to be somebody from the same background and ethnicity so Eesa’s family ran events in the community to raise awareness and get people signed up- particularly those with South Asian heritage.
Over 1500 people signed up to the register in Eesa’s name, meaning there are over a thousand more people ready to give a stranger a second chance of life.
Mosan, Eesa’s dad, says: “Alhamdulillah, By the Mercy of Allah SWT Eesa has been blessed with a donor. Thanks to everyone who signed up, thanks to all the volunteers, thanks to everyone who prayed for Eesa and shared his story, and thanks to his donor."
#MyNameIsEesa
Between 16 and 30? Help save the life of someone like Eesa by joining the register today.
As the Qur’an says: "Saving one life is like saving the whole of humanity. By signing up to the stem cell register, that’s what we could all be doing.
Mosan , Eesa's dad says
Make a donation
A gift of £5 a month helps build a stem cell register that gives everyone the best chance of survival.
A gift of £10 a month helps lifesaving transplants to happen – giving as many people like Eesa as possible a second chance of life.
A gift of £15 a month could help pay for our umbilical cord collection programme – making little lifesavers of babies only minutes old!
£15 goes a long way to helping our scientists conduct ground-breaking research that will save lives over the next 50 years.
£40 could sign up a new lifesaving stem cell donor who could go on to save a life like Eesa's.
£90 could pay for three hours of invaluable support from a post-transplant nurse for patients and families.