Searching for the perfect match in the GTA for Alberta toddler battling cancer

An Alberta family’s national search to find a stem cell match for their two-year-old son has brought them to the GTA.

Ezra was born in June of 2020. In May the following year, he was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia – a rare form of cancer. He’s been receiving chemotherapy and radiation at the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton and the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary for more than a year. While his condition improved, the progress would only be temporary.

“His condition has worsened a little bit, he has relapsed,” said Jacob Marfo, Ezra’s father, who was found to be a partial match and became a donor in September 2021. “It was very devastating, very heartbreaking to hear that.”

Marfo describes his son a very happy little man who like playing, cartoons and has a unique affinity for the vacuum cleaner.

“He just wants to hug it, he just loves it.”

“We see him changing from that boy who was active and able to do things, to someone who is confined to this crib 24-hours.”

A photo showing Ezra, his mother and father. CITYNEWS/David Zura

Now, the search is on to find the perfect match for Ezra. One of the challenges is that donors and recipients are much more likely to be a match when there’s a shared ethnic background. Unable to find a match in Calgary or Edmonton, Marfo approached his pastor and the church is now helping him to find a donor.

“To make everything perfect, we need to go out and expand the pool,” he says.

This weekend, Marfo and a team of volunteers are in the GTA, swabbing members of the Black community in hopes of finding that match.

“One of the most surprising things I learned through this process is that less than one percent of the people on the stem cell donor registry are of Black, African, Caribbean decent,” said Mavis Afriyie-Boateng, one of the volunteers and a nurse by background.

“Even if they’re not a match for Ezra, the hope is that we have them in the registry so they can be a donor for some other child.”

Another community swabbing event is scheduled for Sunday. If you want to take part but can’t make it this weekend, you are asked to call 647-893-4417 and special arrangements can be made. You can also check out the Canadian Blood Services website to learn more about how you can help.

“We are amazed and we know with what they are doing, we will find a match,” said Marfo.

Files from Rachneet Randhawa and Lisa Grant were used in this article