Albany man Graeme Stockdale calls for help as son Seb battles leukaemia and chases stem cell donor

The son of an Albany man is facing a long and uncertain battle with leukaemia, as family and friends rally to support the young man and raise awareness of the disease.

Graeme Stockdale, who grew up in Albany before moving interstate, is now standing beside his 20-year-old son Seb as he undergoes treatment for acute myeloid leukaemia.

Seb had recently moved to Japan on a six-month working holiday visa as a chef when he became unwell.

He was diagnosed with the aggressive and life-threatening cancer, forcing him to put his plans on hold as he came back to Australia and went into intensive treatment.

Mr Stockdale, who lives in New South Wales, said receiving this news was a massive shock, and his wife was on the next flight to Japan to bring their son home.

“It was just horrible, it was rubbish — I don’t even know the words to explain that one,” he said.

Seb is undergoing chemotherapy, and is hoping a suitable stem cell donor can be found so he can proceed with a bone marrow transplant.

Mr Stockdale said Seb had responded well to treatment so far.

“He’s just finished his second round of chemo at the Gold Coast University Hospital,” he said.

“He’ll probably have another two rounds (of chemo) right before he can do a bone marrow transplant, but that’s if they can find a donor.

“He’s handling it very well. He’s young and strong and all the other things you need to help you get through these things.”

Mr Stockdale said the family was now focused on raising awareness of the stem cell registry, which matches volunteer donors with patients in need of a stem cell transplant.

He said sharing Seb’s story was already helping highlight how little awareness there was of leukaemia and stem cell donation.

“None of us even knew a stem cell registry existed,” he said.

“I would say 99 per cent of people we have spoken to didn’t know either, so we are trying to push people across the whole country, the whole world, the whole universe, to actually get on to the registry.”

Mr Stockdale said doctors were searching for a donor who was as close as possible to a 100 per cent DNA match.

“They said it takes them normally a minimum of three months to find a donor,” he said.

Despite the uncertainty, Mr Stockdale said Seb’s outlook remained upbeat.

“Seb is so positive, like it’s crazy how positive he is,” he said.

“He’s very sure that he’s going to find his match.”

Seb said he wanted to share his story to raise awareness and help save other people’s lives.

“Just ask to be on the stem cell registry,” he said.

“If you donate you might not save my life, but at least you’ll save someone else’s. There’s no downsides to donating.”

To help the Stockdale family’s appeal, visit Seb’s donor page online.