More needs to be done to attract Indigenous stem cell donors, northwestern Ontario cancer survivor says – CBC

Bess Legarde was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in 2017

July 12, 2019

A cancer survivor from Fort William First Nation near Thunder Bay, Ont., says Canadian Blood Services needs to do more to reach out to potential Indigenous stem cell donors.

“I feel like they could probably do a little bit more footwork in actually physically going to communities and possibly getting people swabbed there,” Bess Legarde told CBC, referring to the process of gathering sample cells from would-be donors using cheek swabs.

Legarde was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in 2017 at the age of 29.

A recent study from Montreal’s McGill University Health Centre found striking levels of the cancer in industrial cities in Ontario, including Thunder Bay.

Read More: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/indigenous-stem-cell-donors-thunder-bay-1.5208893