Life-saving stem cell donor drive to be held in memory of County Derry teen

A Stem Cell Donor Drive will be held in Magherafelt next month in memory of a County Derry teen, who passed away in 2020.

Ozzie Rogers was just 17 years-old when he died following a long battle with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia.

The popular Knockloughrim teenager was diagnosed with the condition, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow, when he was 15 years-old.

Following his diagnosis in 2018, Ozzie spent three months in the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children receiving chemotherapy, which unfortunately didn't work as well as doctors had hoped. In March 2019, Ozzie received an anonymous stell cell donation and went on to live a further 18 months until he sadly relapsed and died in September 2020.

In May, Ozzie would have been turning 21 and his family have now decided to hold the life-saving donor drive in his memory.

“Stem cell donation can potentially save the life of someone with a blood cancer diagnosis,” Ozzie's mum Miranda told the County Derry Post

“Ozzie was 16 years old when he received his. He lived a further 18 months, time we wouldn't have had, if it wasn't for his donor. He would have died before his 16th birthday from Leukaemia.

“Ozzie would have been turning 21 in May, so this year we will be supporting DKMS UK, an international charity dedicated to the fight against blood cancer and blood disorders, in helping to recruit potential life-savers.”

The donor drive will be held in St Swithin's Parish Hall in Magherafelt on Saturday, May 11 between 10am and 3pm.

If you're aged between 17 and 55, come along for a simple cheek swab and you may be someone's hero in the future.

If you can't make the event, visit www.DKMS.co.uk where you can register for a cheek swab kit along with enrolment documents to be posted out.