A 21-year-old Nelson Mandela University student’s life took a frightening and unexpected turn earlier in 2025 when he was diagnosed with Aplastic Anaemia — a rare but serious condition where the bone marrow fails to produce enough blood cells.
What began as a routine check-up in February quickly escalated, leading to multiple tests and a bone marrow biopsy, confirming the life-changing diagnosis.
Since then, Zachary Francis has relied on weekly blood and platelet transfusions to stay alive.
But despite the available treatment options, Francis’s only real chance at long-term survival is a stem cell transplant.
And, unfortunately, none of his family members are a match.
In April, he began the Revolade treatment to try increase his platelet production, but it was unsuccessful.
In June, he started the Atgam treatment, which suppressed the immune system to stop it from attacking bone marrow stem cells.
While this treatment showed some positive results, it has greatly restricted his movements.
According to the third-year Bachelor of Education foundation phase student, the university had supported him with online classes and the flexibility of submitting his tests and assignments remotely.
“My immune system is very weak right now so I can’t go anywhere,” he said.
“I can’t be outside and in crowds. I can’t go out and be around people.
“I also have to be on a strict diet and I can’t eat just anything.
“It feels very much like Covid-19 all over again,” Francis said.
His father, Marlon, said the entire experience had been overwhelming as his son had not displayed any symptoms before the diagnosis, and aside for some discolouration and low energy every now and then, there were still no clear symptoms.
“There were no red flags and no physical symptoms.
“Even now, the doctors had to make him aware of what to look out for and when he needed to go see a doctor.
“He was always a very outgoing young man and now he can’t go out anywhere,” Marlon said sadly.
The Western Cape region manager in donor recruitment, Bonginkosi Kume, said donating blood stem cells was not as invasive as many people thought.
“Each patient has a better chance of finding a donor within their ethnic group because of their genetic background.
“We try to diversify our system so we can help as many patients as we can. The donation process is very simple.
“Once registered, the donor is hooked up to a special machine.
“The blood is collected from one arm, sent through a machine that removes the stem cells, and then returned to the other arm.
“This is a harmless procedure, as the body will then reproduce healthy new cells in no time,” Kume said.
Appealing to the public to step up, Francis said registering as a donor could bring hope not only for himself, but for many others in similar situations.
“By donating stem cells, you are not only helping me. There are other children and people who are also in need.
“Even if it’s not for me, you can be a match for someone else,” he said.
Yanelani Mbolompo, a donor recruiter at international nonprofit bone marrow donor centre DKMS, is planning a donor drive at the university in an effort to better Francis’s odds of finding a match.
“We want to set up a donor drive because we have a strong belief that people support who they know.
“Patients have a better chance of finding help in their own communities.
“We will assist people by registering them and taking samples to be tested to see if there are potential matches for the patients in need that are on our system.
“Once the details of the drive have been confirmed, we will release more information,” Mbolompo said.
For more information on the drive, or other donor details, Mbolompo can be contacted on yanelani.mbolompo@dkms-africa.org
The Herald
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