MORE than 1,500 people have supported a donor drive to help a 12-year-old Earlsdon schoolboy with a debilitating blood condition.
Hundreds of potential donors headed to Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School in Coventry for a mouth swab from charity DKMS to see if they were a bone marrow match for Paddy Igoe, who has yet to find a match on the worldwide donor register.
Paddy suffers from aplastic anaemia – a condition which drastically weakens patients by lowering their blood cell count – and desperately needs a bone marrow transplant to treat him.
His mum Donna, an Early Years teacher at Sacred Heart, helped launch the ‘Paddy’s Plea’ campaign along with DKMS to try and get the public to help him.
The plea was shared widely across social media, resulting in a huge response from the public.
A donor drive at Earlsdon Primary School, where Paddy was a pupil, saw 860 people register, and the drive at Sacred Heart saw a further 704 people get swabbed.
Although it will be a few weeks before the results of the swabs come through, Donna was hopeful the high turnout could have found a match for her son.
Donna said: “I’m astonished at how many people turned up to try and help Paddy – it really means the world to me.
“Paddy’s tissue type is very rare, but I know someone out there must be a match for him. So I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who came – every person who walked through the door increased Paddy’s chances of getting better.
“His condition has made him very tired and weak – it’s stopped him from going to school and from playing football, which is his favourite sport.”
Potential donors also took part on a recent event for Paddy at a Coventry City home game at the Ricoh Arena.
When Donna told her colleagues at Sacred Heart about Paddy’s condition, the staff rallied round her and invited DKMS to host a donor drive at the school.
Principal of Sacred Heart Paul Madia said: “As soon as Donna told us about Paddy’s condition, we knew we had to do as much as we could to help him.
“We got in touch with DKMS and they were very happy to come down and swab as many people as possible.
“I’m so grateful to all the parents, staff and members of the public who came to Sacred Heart to get swabbed and potentially save Paddy’s life.”
And Lisa Nugent, head of donor recruitment at DKMS, was equally delighted with the public’s response to the Paddy’s Plea campaign.
“The turnout as a result of the Paddy’s Plea appeal has been incredible,” she said.
“A single mouth swab only takes ten minutes or so, but it could make all the difference for a child like Paddy or another patient in need.”
