Alberta toddler waiting for stem cell match loses battle with rare form of cancer

A two-year-old boy from Alberta, whose family embarked on a national search to find a stem cell match for him, has passed away.

Ezra Marfo, who was battling acute myelogenous leukemia – a rare form of cancer – died last week.

“Some live long, and make little positive impact on others,” Swab4Ezra wrote on social media Sunday. “Others live a short but impactful live that brings change to the world-this is where Ezra belongs. Our Son, Friend, Brother and Little Angel, Ezra Marfo, who inspired the Swab4Ezra and Hope4Ezra is now back to be with his Maker.”

Ezra was born in June of 2020. In May the following year, he was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia. He was receiving chemotherapy and radiation at the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton and the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary for more than a year.

“Ezra was also full of smiles and laughter, and his interest in stars was beyond us. Now, he is a Star himself,” continued the social media post.

Ezra and his father Jacob Marfo. (Credit: CityNews/David Zura)

Jacob Marfo, Ezra’s father, was found to be a partial match and became a donor last September. But it wasn’t a perfect match.

That’s when the family went across the country looking for a match, with stops in Ottawa, Hamilton, Toronto, Winnipeg and more.

One of the challenges was that donors and recipients were much more likely to be a match if there was a shared ethnic background.

Less than one per cent of the Canadian Blood Services stem cell registry is made up of people of African descent.

Ezra passed away waiting for a match.

But his family is hoping to keep raising awareness and convince others about the importance of having donors from diverse ethnic backgrounds.

“He fought to the very end, and we know that he is fighting for others with cancer to get their stem cell match and get well,” continued the Swab4Ezra post.

“On behalf of his family, I want to thank the people who got swabbed, who volunteered to swab others, donated resources, prayed for Ezra to have a miracle and shared his story to the world.

“Ezra always gave, as such we will continue to do stem cell drives until every eligible person between 17-35 years is on the registry and every expecting mum is on the Cord bank registry.”

Canadians are urged to visit the Canadian Blood Services website to learn more about the stem cell donor program.

—With files from Carly Robinson, David Zura and John Marchesan