High School Hosts Bone Marrow Donor Drive for Commerce Fourth Grader

At nine years old, Commerce Elementary fourth grader Sydney Balzer has already beaten leukemia once. But now it’s back, and she needs a bone marrow transplant to defeat it once and for all. 

Walled Lake Central High School will host a Bone Marrow Drive for Sydney on Nov. 2 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Her only hope for survival is a bone marrow transplant from an unrelated donor.
 
In September 2010, Sydney was diagnosed with acute lymphotic leukemia (ALL). The diagnosis came as a complete shock to her parents, Stacy and Jason, and to her big brother Jeremy, who is 12.

Sydney completed two and a half years of chemotherapy treatment, losing her hair twice and spending days on end in the hospital. During this period, she also took many medications that taxed her health further.

In February 2013, Sydney completed her treatments and was deemed cancer free. Unfortunately, the leukemia returned in September 2013, and Sydney is currently undergoing very aggressive chemotherapy treatments. Her doctors feel the best chance of overcoming the leukemia is to pursue a bone marrow transplant.

As is commonly the case, Sydney’s family members are not matches, and the search for a match has started with the federal National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP).
 
The process to become a bone marrow donor is simple and involves swabbing the inside of the mouth. If you are unable to be a donor you can still help by making a financial contribution at the Delete Blood Cancer website (DeleteBloodCancer.org), to help support the organization's ongoing efforts to eradicate blood cancers of all types.
 
“We hope that everyone in the community comes out to get registered as a potential bone marrow donor with Delete Blood Cancer," Stacy Balzer said. "It is terrifying as a parent to know that your child needs a bone marrow transplant but you’re powerless to give them the lifesaving marrow that they needed."
 
For more information or to register as a bone marrow donor, please visit DeleteBloodCancer.org. The school is located at 1600 Oakley Park Road in Walled Lake.