Good evening, TFNationals!

Whilst we will always love toys, comics and everything else concerning those giant fighting robots from space, it’s no secret that we are most proud of the wonderful community which exists at our conventions. With that in mind, we want to take a moment to share one attendee’s story with you.

A few years ago we were introduced to a young man called Zac, who we knew to be suffering from some serious health problems. You may remember him as the Chip Chase cosplayer!


At nine years of age, Zac was diagnosed with Philadelphia Positive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia which is a type of blood cancer. After about three years it was thought that many hours of intensive care treatment had helped Zac to beat the illness. Unfortunately, by his thirteenth Birthday, Zac was facing the illness again, this time with a new realisation that a different type of treatment would be necessary. Namely, a stem-cell transplant (sometimes called a bone marrow transplant).

The difficulty with obtaining this kind of transplant is not funding (though, that should never be forgotten) but rather, public knowledge. Whilst many people have heard of giving blood, there is generally not a great awareness surrounding stem-cell transplants. This is a great shame because much like blood transfusions, a matching donor must be found before a procedure can take place. So raising awareness of the steps needed to register as a donor is vitally important.

For Zac, we are pleased to confirm that a suitable donor was eventually located. As of 2019, Zac is now in a position where he may finally be able to put his years of hospital treatment behind him! Deciding to put his experience to good use, Zac has reached out to TFNation to seek assistance in raising awareness about the stem-cell donation process, so as many people as possible can be helped.

Most people are able to register to become a donor. The testing process is easy and can be completed via post. For those who are able to proceed, in lots of cases the donation process is largely similar to giving blood (although this can be different for some people).

Zac has been good enough to put together some useful links for anybody who may be interested. Even if becoming a donor may not be for you, a share on your social media page could really help to get the message out there and would be hugely appreciated.

https://www.anthonynolan.org/ Anthony Nolan Trust

On behalf of Zac, his family and everybody at TFNation, we want to thank you for taking the time to read this post. We know our amazing community will be thrilled to hear Zacs news and we hope you will spare a moment to support his efforts.

And don't worry... normal, robotic content shall be resumed shortly! If you thought we'd made our final announcements for 2019, then think again! We'll be back in touch again soon with more exciting, transformative news!

Til all are one

The TFNation crew


 
  • 29th May 2019 20:05
  • 2019
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