Patient Story

Neo’s 100 Days of Resilience

100 days might not seem like much, but for Neo, it’s a HUGE milestone. Diagnosed with Fanconi Anaemia at 4 years old, Neo, now 9, recently hit his 100-day mark after receiving a stem cell transplant, and we’re beyond excited to share that this young champ is scoring life goals, one step at a time!

Cape Town, 16 October 2024 - Neo’s journey wasn’t easy. From a young age, he relied on blood transfusions to survive. His mother, Paballo, faced the harsh reality of endless hospital visits, all while holding onto hope for her son’s future. After years of waiting, hoping, and searching, a matching stem cell donor was found and went through with the donation process, giving Neo a second chance at life.

“In May, Neo received his stem cell transplant. Since then, he’s been a different child. No more transfusions, his energy is back, and next year, he’s returning to school! He’s dreaming of traveling, swimming, and doing everything he couldn’t before. This warms my heart.” says Paballo.

Reflecting on their journey, Paballo hopes to inspire others to join the registry as stem cell donors to help more children like Neo.

“Life doesn’t wait for anyone,” she says. “But thanks to the kindness of strangers, we’ve been given the gift of time; time to heal, grow, and truly live again. It takes a community to save a life.”

Join the celebration! Encourage your friends to register! Every registration could help other patients like Neo start their journey to recovery too.

Register today at https://www.dkms-africa.org/register-now-za

For more information, contact DKMS Africa on 0800 12 10 82.

Help us to register even more lifesavers
We’d love it if you could help us to get more people on the register so that everyone who needs a blood stem cell donor can find their match.
More ways to help
You can support the DKMS in many ways and thus give new hope for life to many blood cancer patients.