A desperate search continues to find a match for a bone marrow donation to save the life of a 3-year-old boy diagnosed with an aggressive brain disease.
Since the Scripps News Group in Salt Lake City first shared Kiri Pok's story earlier this month, over 10,000 tests have been administered, with fingers crossed that there's a match for the boy who was diagnosed with cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), an aggressive and potentially fatal brain disease.
The statewide search landed Wednesday at the Boneyard Saloon in Park City, where people took bone marrow screenings, with the extra incentive of a free lunch.
"Because we know that this group of 10,000 people who are currently doing this, there's a 100% chance that, if they get called up, that they're going to be there for Kiri, because they're right here, they're right here," said Kiri's grandfather, RP Pok.
Those who were screened at the restaurant were happy to help.
"I thought it was a good cause," said Jod Booker. "And luckily enough, I like free lunch, and I'm within the age range where I could potentially be a match for bone marrow. So I figured I'd come up and see if I could help out."
Utah family urgently seeking bone marrow donor for 3-year-old's potentially life-saving procedure:
Boneyard Saloon hopes the small part they're playing in the search turns out to have big results.
"We just hope we can find the proper donor for the little man to give him an opportunity to enjoy life like a lot of us have," shared Jayson Yelton, the restaurant's director of food and beverage.
Cerebral ALD can cause the loss of vision, motor function, and the ability to speak or walk, among other symptoms. Those who are not a match for Kiri may still be a match for someone else and could step up to the plate for a transplant.
"If I can save anybody's life by doing swabs or within the bone marrow or blood or whatever they need, I definitely would," said Saishah Pritchett, who was screened on Wednesday.
"They did this for [Kiri], this is gonna be his legacy someday, of how many people he's gonna be able to save through bone marrow match, just because of our efforts now," added RP.
Anyone looking to submit to a bone marrow test or donate money to help the family can CLICK HERE.
This article was written by Marc Blaine for the Scripps News Group in Salt Lake City.
