Life for Lauren - Bone Marrowthon
Donation protected
Lauren Anderson was born in May 2000, and at just a few days old had started showing symptoms of what would shortly be diagnosed as Severe Chronic Congenital Neutropenia. This would include hundreds of hospital/doctor’s visits, prescriptions, blood tests, daily injections and yearly bone marrow biopsies (which were used to check for mutations in her bone marrow). Neutropenia is an immune disorder in which the body does not produce neutrophils (the white blood cell used to fight off infections).
Lauren has taken GCSF her whole life, which is a drug that is injected daily to help make the lifesaving neutrophils. However, in late 2019 while Lauren was having her gallbladder removed, she was given another bone marrow biopsy where doctors discovered dangerous mutations that were making the GCSF ineffective. This meant Laurens only option was to have a Bone Marrow Transplant, where she would first be given Chemotherapy to strip her body of its failing immune system in order to help her grow a whole new one.
Lauren and her mother, Helen relocated from their home in Hobart, Tasmania and started this process on June 16th, 2020. Lauren was in hospital for 5 weeks at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, and stayed in Melbourne for another 3 and a half months as an outpatient at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic they were completely isolated from friends and family during the stage 4 lockdown.
As an outpatient she attended Peter Mac twice a week for blood tests, clinic appointments, bone marrow biopsies and different transfusions. They were constantly checking to make sure she had not contracted Graft vs Host disease which is the donor bone marrow attacking the host. Graft vs host disease can be the most risky and deadly part of a Bone Marrow Transplant.
Unfortunately, a few days before Christmas 2020 Lauren and her family were given the devastating news that her Bone Marrow Transplant had failed. At the start of March 2021 Lauren was informed that she would have to have another Bone Marrow Transplant. The worst 4 and a half months of Laurens life would have to be repeated.
This is the last chance. If this doesn’t work, Lauren’s quality of life will continue to deteriorate. At the moment out of all the donors registered worldwide, Lauren has only two possible matches. One of which is not a viable option and the other was the previous donor (who may not even be able to donate again).
We hope that Lauren’s story will inspire you to ask the question ‘Could my bone marrow save a life?’ chances are if you are within the ages of 18 to 35 then it could. We are organising a drive to get as many people as possible on the registry and able to donate if needed, the likelihood of finding a match for Lauren is low but the lives of others we could save is significant!
We are also raising money to support Lauren and her family with the next Transplant. Lauren and Helen will be unable to work while in Melbourne, leaving the family with significantly reduced income at a time of increased expense. Anything we can do to help make it easier for them is certainly worth it!
Lauren has taken GCSF her whole life, which is a drug that is injected daily to help make the lifesaving neutrophils. However, in late 2019 while Lauren was having her gallbladder removed, she was given another bone marrow biopsy where doctors discovered dangerous mutations that were making the GCSF ineffective. This meant Laurens only option was to have a Bone Marrow Transplant, where she would first be given Chemotherapy to strip her body of its failing immune system in order to help her grow a whole new one.
Lauren and her mother, Helen relocated from their home in Hobart, Tasmania and started this process on June 16th, 2020. Lauren was in hospital for 5 weeks at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, and stayed in Melbourne for another 3 and a half months as an outpatient at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic they were completely isolated from friends and family during the stage 4 lockdown.
As an outpatient she attended Peter Mac twice a week for blood tests, clinic appointments, bone marrow biopsies and different transfusions. They were constantly checking to make sure she had not contracted Graft vs Host disease which is the donor bone marrow attacking the host. Graft vs host disease can be the most risky and deadly part of a Bone Marrow Transplant.
Unfortunately, a few days before Christmas 2020 Lauren and her family were given the devastating news that her Bone Marrow Transplant had failed. At the start of March 2021 Lauren was informed that she would have to have another Bone Marrow Transplant. The worst 4 and a half months of Laurens life would have to be repeated.
This is the last chance. If this doesn’t work, Lauren’s quality of life will continue to deteriorate. At the moment out of all the donors registered worldwide, Lauren has only two possible matches. One of which is not a viable option and the other was the previous donor (who may not even be able to donate again).
We hope that Lauren’s story will inspire you to ask the question ‘Could my bone marrow save a life?’ chances are if you are within the ages of 18 to 35 then it could. We are organising a drive to get as many people as possible on the registry and able to donate if needed, the likelihood of finding a match for Lauren is low but the lives of others we could save is significant!
We are also raising money to support Lauren and her family with the next Transplant. Lauren and Helen will be unable to work while in Melbourne, leaving the family with significantly reduced income at a time of increased expense. Anything we can do to help make it easier for them is certainly worth it!
Fundraising team (3)
Lauren Anderson
Organiser
Goodwood TAS
Helen Anderson
Team member
Sally Mcshane
Team member
