"In July, 9-year-old Stephen Mondek became what Cedars-Sinai Medical Center believes is its youngest known stem cell donor. His father, 48-year-old anesthesiologist Nick Mondek, was dying of acute myeloid leukemia, a cancer that affects blood-forming cells in the bone marrow, and needed a donation to rebuild his immune system. The question came at dinner toward the end of June. Anesthesiologist Nick Mondek, 48, was dying of acute myeloid leukemia, a cancer that affects blood-forming cells in the bone marrow."
"But Mondek needed a stem cell donor - and fast. So he asked his son to save his life. The youngster agreed to be tested at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to see if he could donate stem cells to his father. The Rolling Hills Country Day fourth-grader, who dreams of becoming a doctor for a Major League Baseball team, had his own question first: "When do we go?""
A 9-year-old boy, Stephen Mondek, underwent testing and donated stem cells to his father, anesthesiologist Nick Mondek, who faced acute myeloid leukemia. The donation aimed to rebuild the father’s immune system and improve his ability to fight blood cancer. The decision followed a family conversation at dinner; Stephen volunteered and expressed a simple desire to help. The father sought to ensure the choice was Stephen’s alone and avoided coercion. The case represents a pediatric stem cell donation performed rapidly in response to a life-threatening hematologic condition.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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