World Chips In To Help Mother Help Her Son
The Age
Monday August 11, 1997
Enrique Llopart, 18, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia on 5 May this year and began an intensive program of chemotherapy.
Enrique's mother, Mrs Cristina Llopart, received bad news on 14 July that Enrique had not gone into remission as expected. Doctors at Monash Medical Centre said his only chance was a bone marrow transplant.
Mrs Llopart had to survey all her relatives to find a compatible donor, but most were in Uruguay. She was close to despair at the prospect of trying to question relatives, get samples from them and then to get the samples through Customs.
Mrs Llopart began organising her trip on 15 July and, after many people stepped foward with financial help, was on her way to Uruguay by 18 July.
The Alfred Hospital advised Mrs Llopart on how to transport the blood samples, gave her a special container to carry them and paperwork to exempt them from being searched by Customs. Aerolineas Argentinas gave her free air tickets and organised her trip - which involved travelling to three countries in five days to speak to 43 relatives.
Mrs Llopart has received news that a distant cousin is a very good chance of a providing a bone marrow match and his sample is undergoing second-round tissue typing to determine full compatibility. An American and two Europeans from international donor registers are also being investigated for compatibility.
"We're expecting a dream to come true," said Mrs Llopart.
© 1997 The Age
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