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A charity set up in memory of ā Ngāti Awa and Ngāti Porou three-year-old who died of leukemia has succeeded in finding at least one bone marrow match.
Ryan and Keri Topperwien set up the Dream Chaser Foundation after they failed to find a match for their son Chace because of the low number of Māori and Pacific Island donors in the system.
Since its launch in November, the charity has raised more than $7000 in donations.
Mrs Topperwien says it also held a bone marrow drive in Gisborne and the East Cape, with three van loads of people travelling from Ruatoria to be tested by the New Zealand Blood service and at least nine of them agreeing to become donors.
One has already been called on as a match.
Its next event is a Chace'em Fun Run in Whakatane on 19th of January, and later in the year Dream Chaser will hold a charity ball and a fight night in Hamilton to help pay for renovations to extend Ronald McDonald House.
Copyright © 2013, Uma Broadcasting Ltd
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