Family, friends, strangers try to find stem cell match for Bedford man

HALIFAX – Chris LeBrun had hoped to make 100 blood donations by the time he turned 50. After his 77th donation, his world changed.

LeBrun is originally from Bedford, N.S., but currently lives in Ontario with his wife and two teenaged sons. The 48-year-old accountant was playing ball hockey last May when he noticed he was getting more winded then usual. Shortly after, LeBrun was diagnosed with leukemia and began aggressive treatments. This past fall, LeBrun was told he would need a stem cell transplant.

“To be blunt, it’s critical that Chris finds a match. He must find a match and he must have a stem cell transplant to survive,” said Barb Leighton, a lifelong friend of LeBrun’s.

Friends set up a swab event Saturday at the LeBrun Recreation Centre on Holland Drive in Bedford. The idea is to get everyone possible to come out and get tested to see if they are a match. Males aged 17-35 are typically the ideal donor for a patient in need.

“This is the first patient-driven event that’s been here in a while,” said Holly Sinclair, with Canadian Blood Services. “Certainly, the family is very focused and motivated to find a match for Chris.”

Once participants fill out some paperwork, the inside of their mouths are swabbed for 30 seconds. The sample is then collected and sent off to One Match Stem Cell and Marrow Network.

Those getting tested don’t just have the opportunity to help Chris LeBrun.

“Anybody that’s coming to sign up for One Match today is not signing up specifically for Chris,” Sinclair said. “They’re signing up willingly to help anybody, not just in Canada, but actually in the whole world.”

Canadian Blood Services says less than 25 per cent of patients who need stem cell transplants are able to find a match within their own families.

The remaining 75 per cent must rely on volunteer donors. Right now, there are about 800 people in Canada on a registry waiting for a stem cell transplant, and several thousand more worldwide.