France rallies to find donor for seriously ill boy
French president among those who helped publicise the case of four-year-old Elio suffering from rare form of leukemia
Elio’s parents have been raising money via the fundraising platform CotizUp. Credit: Screenshot from fundraising page.
A French boy facing a life-threatening illness has found a donor, thanks to a social media campaign that encouraged thousands of people across France to sign up to the donor register.
Four-year-old Elio, who lives in Nice with parents Thomas and Julie, was diagnosed with T-cell Leukemia at the start of the year. This aggressive form of blood cancer, in Elio’s case, required a bone marrow transplant.
Elio had been feeling ill for a few days and had some bruises on his legs when his parents took him to the doctor. A blood test showed significant abnormalities and he was quickly diagnosed with the disease.
His parents, Thomas and Juliette, posted on social media about their family’s situation, encouraging people across France to sign up to be donors.
"We wanted to do something; we felt completely powerless in the face of the research Elio's medical team was conducting," mother Juliette Poggioli, told Europe 1 radio. "We thought, why not post something on our social media for our family and friends?"
In the post, the couple wrote: “A compatible person can be anyone. Maybe you.” They explained donations are anonymous and the only requirement is to be between 18-35 years old and in good health.
The couple made a series of media appearances, and soon Elio’s cause was taken on by many famous faces in France, even President Emmanual Macron.
“Hello everyone, just a quick note to tell you that we all need to mobilise to help Elio," President Macron said in a video on March 27.
The parents’ appeal saw bone marrow donations in France skyrocket.
In just two weeks, more than 42,000 people registered on the bone marrow donor registry website.
And nearly six weeks after the couple’s first Instagram post, the French Biomedicine Agency said it had had over 66,000 pre-registration requests on its website. The usual rate is 20,000 new registrations per year.
Despite this huge increase, Elio had still not found a suitable donor.
The Biomedicine Agency noted that the majority of the new registrants (80%) were women, and the couple made an appeal for men and people from diverse ethnic backgrounds to come forward. "Guys, it's your turn now," they posted via Instagram at the time.
His parents kept fighting, raising over €10,000 on fundraising website CotizUp.
In an interview with French nightly news in early May, Elio’s dad urged viewers to sign up to be donors.
Everything changed on May 18, when, in a post on Instagram, Elio’s parents announced a donor had been found.
“It's an immense relief, and we are so happy to see things moving forward!” they wrote.
“We are now entering a crucial new phase. The road to recovery will be very long and particularly challenging in the coming months. It's a huge victory to have this chance, but a long period of care and patience begins now.”
Elio must first go through intensive chemotherapy and radiotherapy so his body can accept the transplant, which will take place in Marseille.
On Instagram, his parents praised the anonymous donor, encouraging others to donate.
“If Elio has this chance today, it's thanks to the magic of organ donation and anonymous solidarity. This is concrete proof that collective action can work and that every registration can change a life.”
