Assiniboia welcomes Weyburn Red Wings with open arms during ammonia shutdown
3h ago
Billets were found for all Red Wings players in just four hours.
Jamie Ficko was diagnosed with cancer last October.
At 37-years-old, the father of three was under immediate chemotherapy treatment just hours after getting his diagnosis.
Doctors were able to treat his acute lymphoblastic leukemia quickly and put the cancer into remission, but it came back a few months later.
The next available option to Ficko, a former Humboldt Bronco that played with the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) team from 2000 to 2002, was having a bone marrow transplant or stem cell transplant.
Not being able to find a match for a stem cell donor in international databases that include almost 30-million people forced Ficko to turn to his father for a bone marrow transplant, only a 50 per cent match.
Those struggles were the driving force behind a cheek-swabbing drive at the University of Saskatchewan Friday to urge more people to become donors.
“Jamie’s cancer was very aggressive, so they had to do a fairly quick stem cell transplant,” Holmes said during the five-hour event in upper Place Riel.
“Otherwise, this may have saved his life and may down the road.”
Ficko has been in isolation following his surgery on Feb. 19, but Holmes decided to go ahead with the event anyways.
“It’s just important to get awareness out there,” he said. “It is fairly simple to give saliva and possibly save a life.”
Helping all the curious pedestrians on campus Friday was Canadian Blood Services’ Sarah Jasmins, the stem cell territory manager for western Canada.
“All the people that are stopping by today, their not donating anything today, they’re just joining the registry saying they would be willing to donate if they matched a patient,” she said.
That process takes about 10 minutes, which consists of paperwork and a quick cotton swab of the cheek.
If a match is ever found between now and the potential donor’s 60th birthday, Canadian Blood Services would call to see if there is still interest in donating. Ideal candidates for donation, similar to a four or six-hour blood donation, are males between the ages of 17 and 35.
Close to 1,400 patients in Canada need a stem cell transplant and can’t find a match.
“The odds of actually matching somebody are very unlikely, it’s kind of like winning the lottery,” Jasmins said.
“But if you did get that call and you did match a patient, you’re probably the only match in the world for that patient.”
More than 100 people sat with volunteers and added their name to the stem cell during Friday’s event.
Holmes never would have imagined organizing anything like this a little more than six months ago, let alone be ecstatic with the turnout.
“I’ve never been one to sit back and accept bad circumstances,” he said. “It’s been a huge eye-opener and hopefully we make a difference today.”