Central Falls father battling sickle cell anemia needs transplant

January 9, 2019 12:36 pm

Twitter: @MrandallABC6

CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. (WLNE-TV)— Family means everything to Jodeci De Jesus. The Central Falls man loves spending time with his three kids, whether it means playing video games or simply hanging out. Some days, however, that is hard to do.

“Mostly back pain. Hip pain. And now lately a lot of joint pain like in my shoulder,” De Jesus said of his aches and pains.

The 26-year-old is living with sickle cell disease, which is an inherited blood disorder. He’s managed it his whole life, but now, after a stroke, the situation has changed.

“I need a stem cell transplant—a bone marrow transplant. What will happen with that is I’ll stop producing the sickle cell blood cells and I’ll produce regular blood cells,” he explained.

With the help of ‘Be the Match Registry,’ De Jesus been searching for an unrelated donor. Unfortunately, that search has not been an easy one.

Currently, the chance of having a matched, available donor on the registry ranges from 24% to 77% depending on ethnic backgrounds. For Hispanic patients like De Jesus, the likelihood of finding a matching donor on the registry is 46%.

‘Be the Match’ says it is incredibly important that De Jesus finds a donor of Hispanic descent in order to receive the best transplant outcome. His family is now making a desperate plea.

“Just to see him, as a mom, he’s always in pain and I can’t take it away. I can’t change it. The only way I can change it now is by asking people to please register,” said Janette Rivera.

De Jesus is hoping more diverse donors will also mean there will be help should his six year old son, Jazz, need a transplant down the line.

“My oldest son has sickle cell as well. So if it doesn’t benefit me, at least, I’m hoping it will benefit him,” he told ABC6.

This Friday, De Jesus will be taking his story to his old high school in the hopes of encouraging people to sign up.

Specifically, they are looking for 18-44 year olds to register. It’s a 5 minute digital registration. At that point, ‘Be the Match’ will send you a cheek swab kit in the mail. Individuals then swab and put it right back in the mail and they will be added to the registry.

“We’re going to find a match. It’s not going to be easy, but it will happen. I have faith. He’s going to get it. He deserves it,” said his Mom.

To help, visit: join.bethematch.org/forjodeci