The Perth father-of-three had been searching for a suitable donor since February of this year after being diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia for the second time.
Despite community support and rallies that encouraged healthy Australians to join the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry, Gennaro struggled to find a match.
For a bone marrow transplant to be successful, the donor must have the exact same tissue type as the patient.
A family member is normally the most suitable donor because they are most likely to have the same ethnic makeup as the patient.
But no one in the family was a match for Gennaro.
Gennaro’s wife, Joanne, took to Facebook last Thursday to express the family’s gratitude for the anonymous donor.
“With the happiest of hearts, the biggest of smiles and tears in our eyes, we have the best news to share … A donor has been found for Gennaro,” she wrote.
“Thank you God. Our prayers have certainly been answered and we are over the moon with sheer happiness and joy! This person is our saviour.”
Gennaro has begun intensive chemotherapy in preparation for the transplant which is set to take place sometime this week.
He will remain in hospital for up to six weeks before returning home for a six-month recovery period.
Although the family’s prayers have been answered, Joanne still encouraged people to join the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry.
Less than one per cent of the Australian population is registered as a potential donor.
These low numbers make it difficult for patients to find a perfect match as the donor needs to have the same ethnic makeup as the recipient, so the registry needs to be as ethnically diverse as possible.
Males aged between 18 and 45 are ideal donors because of their younger age and there are no concerns about pregnancy.
“A simple blood donation is all that it takes,” Joanne wrote.
“Please keep marching and fighting with us until this war is won.”
