December 16, 2022
Research grant to chase bone marrow donation dream
The Health Research Council has given a community research grant to a Whakatāne mum who set up a charity to support whanāu who have a child with cancer.
Keri Topperwien set up the Dream Chaser Foundation in memory of her son Chace, who died in 2012 aged 3 of an aggressive cancer of the blood and bone marrow.
She will used the $53,000 grant to explore Māori perspectives on bone marrow donation with the aim of increasing the number of Maori donors.
She says when Chace died only 6000 of the 26 million donors on the international bone marrow registry were Māori – but none were a suitable match.
Ms Topperwien will work with mentor Dr Naomi Simmonds to review existing research on organ donation from te ao Māori and indigenous perspectives so she can develop research questions for a full project proposal.
She will also establish a bone marrow advisory group of health professionals, organisations, relevant charities and whānau to share knowledge and experiences of the bone marrow donation process.