Brazilian woman fighting cancer in Dublin has 50 days to find bone marrow donor

A YOUNG Brazilian woman living in Ireland has revealed her devastating health fears, declaring: “I have 50 days to find a bone marrow donor.”

Lais Basilio, 23, is in a race with time to fight an aggressive bone marrow cancer.

Eight months ago, she was dealt the life-changing cancer diagnosis, and now has less than 50 days to find a compatible O negative blood type bone marrow donor as a stem cell transplant is her only chance to battle cancer. 

She told the Irish Sun: “Everything went very fast. And I was scared. All the treatments from the start were very, very tough.

“My body can handle less than 50 days without medication for the bone marrow transplant. 

“They’ve estimated this period because of the break on my treatment and because there is no other option, according to the doctors. If it doesn’t happen, my cancer will be considered terminal.”

Lais, who has been sharing her cancer battle on social media since April this year, thanked the Brazilian community living in Ireland for its great support.

They have been desperately helping her search to find a compatible donor since some of her content went viral.

Lais has undergone 12 chemotherapy sessions, 16 radiotherapy sessions, six surgeries and a platelet transfusion since her diagnosis. 

Last week, the 23-year-old took to social media to explain the eligibility criteria for joining the bone marrow registry and ask people to become donors and “save lives”. 

What she was unaware of at the time was that most Latin Americans cannot be blood marrow donors in Ireland due to the risk of Chagas disease, which is “not currently tested” by the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS). 

This specific requirement has reduced her chances of finding a compatible donor, as only 3 per cent of the eligible Irish population give blood across the country. 

Lais said that when she decided to ask for help on social media, she “was very surprised” to find that thousands of people were willing to help her find a donor.

She added that she “already knew there could be barriers” to finding a compatible donor. 

Lais moved to Dublin in February 2023 to live a dream of a life abroad as an English language student and said returning to Brazil is not an option as she “wants to continue the treatment” in Ireland. 

The Brazilian community took over social media to raise awareness of Lais disease and express their concerns regarding the current requirements to join the Irish Blood Transfusion Service registry database. 

‘I want to donate’ 

Eduardo Scandaroli, Brazilian podcaster of Irlanda Talk Show, has posted a video on Instagram this week to help search for a potential donor, encouraging his followers to join the registry. 

His video has been shared more than 2,700 times and has over 436k views. 

He said: “Our Brazilian community in Ireland is very united, but sadly our blood is not accepted here due to the risk of Chagas disease according to the Irish Blood Transfusion Service. 

“This means that Brazilians cannot donate, making the search for a donor even more difficult.” 

The Brazilian podcaster said he has type O negative blood and “wants to donate,” but due to this requirement, he can’t take.

Requirement review call

And he is not alone, Louise Domingues urged the IBTS to review their guidelines about “Brazilians not being able to save lives the way we save in Brazil”.

She added: “We are the 3rd largest donors in the world. It should be her choice to take a much smaller, or probably none, risk of Chagas disease from a Brazilian donor.

“The risk of her death is much higher. In Brazil, we are donors, and we save lives.” 

Another Brazilian told us that she has type O negative blood and tried to donate last year. 

“I tried to donate last year, but they didn’t accept it. They said even if I was born in Ireland, but my mother was Brazilian, I still couldn’t donate,” she said. 

Fundraising efforts

Iain Liam Ward, who has been using social media to raise funds to cancer research since being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in 2022, also shared a video urging his followers to donate for the 23-year-old Brazilian. 

The self-styled ‘King of Chemo’ said: “There is a Brazilian woman who has only 48 days left to live because of a severe bone cancer. 

“She needs blood, and she needs Irish blood because, unfortunately, Brazilians are not allowed to give blood in Ireland. They cannot donate, but we can.”

Caio Benicio, a Brazilian former Deliveroo rider who was hailed a hero after intervening in a knife attack on Parnell Street last year said he lost his father to cancer in 2020 and said he “knows how difficult is to deal with this disease.”

Caio, who is now running for Dublin City Council, said: “The reason behind the Latino community being unable to be donors may be a lack of knowledge. This could be a turning point to be able to change these requirements.”

Earlier this year, Caio joined the support group Amor Simples de Doar, which focuses on helping Brazilians facing cancer in Ireland. 

He said: “I feel very honoured to be able to help bring awareness towards this beautiful project. 

“When a young person, usually an [English language] student, discovers an illness and is away from the family, it could be very difficult. And this group provides the support they need.”

‘Very frustrating’ 

Marcia Regina Miranda, founder of Amor Simples de Doar, told us the group “had not faced such an urgent case” as the 23-year-old who now has less than 50 days to find a blood marrow donor. 

She said: “It was quite shocking that Brazilians who wanted to donate to another Brazilian woman were not able to. We can save lives – not only for Lais but also for many others. 

“It is something that should be reviewed in the future. 

“I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021. So, you can imagine my frustration at knowing we cannot do a simple act to see if you’re compatible with being a blood marrow donor. It’s very frustrating.”

Marcia Regina Miranda Founder of Amor Simples de Doar

According to the IBTS, donors must be between 18 and 48 years old, willing to remain on the panel until they are 55 years old, in good general health, and meet certain eligibility criteria. 

They also said: “You cannot give blood if you stayed or worked in a rural subsistence farming community in South America, Central America or Southern Mexico for a continuous period of 4 weeks or more. 

“You cannot give blood if you or your mother was born in a Chagas risk area; this includes South America, Central America and Southern Mexico.”

To join, the potential donor must take the Bone Marrow Eligibility Quiz, followed by a blood test to establish your human leukocyte antigen (HLA), used to match patients and donors for bone marrow transplants. 

Disease not tested

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service told The Irish Sun that they do “not currently test for Chagas disease”. 

They said: “The Irish Unrelated Bone Marrow Registry (IUBMR) is part of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) and follows the same donor selection criteria as the IBTS.

“Unlike solid organs, like heart and liver, there are no waiting lists for bone marrow transplants. In the former, a patient is awaiting a volunteer’s death before the organ can be donated. 

“In blood stem cell transplantation, like blood donation, the donor can donate blood or stem cells which are readily regenerated by the body. 

Donation tests

“The IUBMR currently has 27,895 donors registered (fig valid to end of 2023).

“IBTS carries out testing of donations for HIV-1/2, HTLV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Hepatitis E and syphilis.

“Infection with T. cruzi is very common in many parts of South or Central America and is often symptomless. It can be passed from an infected mother to her unborn child and by transfusion.”

Each year in Ireland almost 42,000 people are diagnosed with cancer and sadly around over 9,600 die from various forms of the disease.

Jaime Santana, professor at the University of Brasília (UnB) and researcher of the T. cruzi, told The Irish Sun that the Chagas disease is “under control in Brazil” but in other countries in South America such as Peru and Bolivia, still a “serious issue.”

He said: “People have up to 25 years to manifest the disease. Out of 100 infected people, 25 develop the disease. And cases of vertical transmission of Chagas disease are very, very rare. 

“The test is cheap, and this would be a way to predict needs and prepare the health system in these countries that currently exclude these donors.”

‘Very reliable’

According to the Brazilian researcher, the test is “very reliable” and costs around $5. 

He added that many countries worldwide, such as the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, France, Portugal, South Africa, and Canada, currently test for Chagas disease prior to blood donations. 

He added: “What is needed is a scientific collaboration between the ministries of health in these countries. And many health professionals are unaware of the disease, because their reality is different.

“And they lose the possibility of saving a life because of this.

“From the point of view of medical ethics, saving a life is an obligation. Above all, it is a medical and not a bureaucratic obligation.” 

Jaime SantanaProfessor at the University of Brasília (UnB)

Former Brazilian Ministry of Health Dr Nicolau Carvalho Esteves added that the”Chagas disease is easily detected in blood tests.”

He said that countries that decided not to accept blood from donors from endemic regions could be due to a “lack of knowledge of the pathophysiology, the transmission of the disease, and the experience of dealing with this disease”.

He added: “They think it might not be detected on the exam, but that’s completely out of the question.

The Brazilian Ambassador to Ireland Marcel Biato assured The Irish Sun that the Brazilian government is “always open to collaborate, take the necessary steps, and establish the dialogues” to support the young Brazilian woman in finding a blood marrow donor in time.