Since I moved to Luxembourg, one of the stories that I
followed through mass media and social networks, and which caught my attention
was the one of Lisandro Zeno: a happy piece of news at a time of high political
antagonism and among so many sad news. I remember reading the messages from
people wishing him the best, blessing him, sharing stories. Or Googling him in
the days after his transplant so as to have updated news about his evolution.
Or being moved to tears because of his optimism, seeing him in pictures with his
family, his girlfriend, his friends, and feeling true happiness for his
recovery, for his trip through the North of Argentina, for the love from people.
Let´s break this down... Until he was 24, Lisandro Zeno was essentially a rugby
player (third line) for Jockey Club Rosario and an advanced student of
Medicine. Suddenly, a leukemia diagnosis challenged him to find practical
solutions. That was his reaction: he did not get depressed. He did not
complain. He chose to make decisions. He knew he would need a donor and next to
his loved ones and lifelong friends they set out on a voyage to obtain a bone
marrow compatible to his. The scope of the appeal was so big that it reached
the ears of Pope Francis, who blessed him through a brief video message.
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| With his sister and his parents in Salta, Argentina. |
After almost seven months of an intense search for the
donor, the Zeno family came across a slightly optimist result. The potential donor of bone marrow -a 39-year-old Brazilian
man who had expressed his will to be a donor several years ago- was very
difficult to be located. Then, Lisandro´s brother asked for help -in a specific
and detailed way- through social networks.
From Rosario, a sportsman and almost the same generation as
Zeno, Lio Messi, once aware of the urgent situation of Lisandro, wrote a
message on his Instagram account: “If you
are a Brazilian, 39-year-old man, with blood type 0 positive and at some point
you expressed your willingness to donate bone marrow, they are looking for you.
Come as soon as possible to ABTO (Brazilian Association of Organ
Transplant) because you are the most compatible one in the world with an
Argentinean guy who has leukaemia and needs you to save his life. You are his
only opportunity”. As if he would have shouted it from the top of the Everest, the
echo had an immediate effect. With the help of Messi and many other people, the
message reached the intended receiver.
In order to be ready to the transplant itself, which was
held on September 10, 2015, Lisandro first received chemotherapy to destroy all
his bone marrow and to be able to receive new cells.
Throughout his treatment, he was hospitalized several times
and he also needed several blood transfusions. All the time Lisandro was accompanied by his loved ones, his
lifelong friends and the solidarity and affection from the people from Rosario,
Argentina and other countries of the world.
From the moment Zeno was transplanted, blood donations at
Rosario´s Britannic Hospital, precisely where Lisandro had the operation for
the first time, multiplied by five. Even in his recovery period, Zeno began to
collaborate in awareness campaigns, making the message very clear: bone marrow donation
is a living donation. To donate organs, blood and bone marrow save lives.
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| With two other bone marrow transplanted guys, both from Rosario and from Central. |
I wish, through this blog, to help bone marrow donation to
become known in Luxembourg. Same for a singular history of courage, solidarity
and optimism as it is the one of Lisandro Zeno, for whom I have a deep respect
and admiration.
-Being far but following
closely your case, I always had the impression that you had an amazing mental
clarity regarding your diagnosis and your future. Was it your knowledge as a
student of Medicine? Faith? Good will?
-Undoubtedly, what is more important in what happens to us is
our standpoint in daily life. With this I do not mean that it’s more important
the “how” than the “what”. From the very beginning the doctor explained to me
that 50% of my treatment was managed by me with my thoughts and my willingness
to fight my disease. Therefore I never allowed myself to be managed by fear and
I was always optimistic and had a will to live. Despite being sick, I decided
to enjoy and to see it as another stage in my life where I had two options:
victimize myself and complain or put up a fight and use my disease to grow as a
person and help other people.
-Which is the best
way for people from all social classes/levels of education to leave aside the
taboos and accept to be donors of bone marrow?
-Despite almost being a doctor I was not a donor and I was not even aware of
how was the process to become one. Once I found out how easy it is, I started
to do campaigns to raise awareness. I believe that the best way to obtain
donors is through education of population in general and through kids and
teenagers at schools, as they are the future donors.
-Did you do awareness
campaigns for children?
-We did some at schools (state and private ones),
though I think that if we want this to be massive there must be a compromise
from the Ministry of Education so as to reach every educational institution
from the country.
-Name popular people
involved with bone marrow donation and/or awareness.
-Julián Weich is
someone who is very involved with solidarity and he permanently helps us.
Facundo Arana is compromised with donation because it has touched him in a very
personal way. Messi made several videos on the topic.
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| With my brother and my sister. |
-What about marrow
bone donation in other countries in relation to Argentina?
-The countries with a higher quantity of
donors are U.S.A. and Germany with almost 5 million of possible donors per
person. We only joined the international registry 13 years ago but we already
have 150,000 donors. This figure keeps growing thanks to the external
collection which is made by the unselfish work of so many volunteers.
-Which is the cost
and the timing for a transplant?
-It depends on where you do it, but
nowadays the average cost is around $500 mil (approx. €33,000). Of course,
through the National Law of Transplants that amount has to be paid as a whole
by the medical insurance of the person in need. It requires being hospitalized
in isolation for a month, where first your sick bone marrow is erased through
chemotherapy so as to leave place for the new bone marrow received from the
donor.
-How do you feel
after being transplanted?
-I have experienced it as a new birth, a second chance
to be able to enjoy this beautiful life we have.
-Are you in contact
with your donor?
-I love my donor without even knowing him, which is
something I will be able to do in three months, an exact year after the
transplant was made. This is because of Incucai´s policy that transplants are secret
so as to avoid any kind of agreement.
-Which role did sport
play in your personal history and especially since November 2014?
-Effort,
patience, perseverance, team work, solidarity and other values. Overall, sport
is key and even more when it is a team sport. It teaches you values which are
basic for life, besides sport itself.
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| With my cousin, my sister and my cousin some weekends ago at the club. |
-How fast did social
networks help to find your donor?
-We are not aware of the true power of
social networks when it comes to help for causes of solidarity. Nowadays people
spend a lot of time browsing social networks and in my case I think it was key
to locate the donor, who we knew who he was but who was hard to find there in
Brazil.
-You are about to
become a doctor. Did your decision regarding your choice of specialization
change after your illness?
-Yes, it did. Before getting sick I wanted to be
an urologist and follow the family tradition. Now I hope to be able to devote
to something related to social medicine, helping people who has to fight
against diseases similar to mine. And anything related to awareness.
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In Colombia cheering for Central
with his friends.
|
-Will you play rugby again so as to win a
championship?
-My doctor does not allow me to play rugby this year, as it is
a contact sport. I try to follow my team wherever they play and to be close to
them, as I love them so much. Now I am playing soccer and doing some running.
-Thank you.
-Nice questions. These interviews, besides helping to raise
awareness, they help me to reflect and keep learning from what has happened to
me.
Corina Moscovich
