Luke and Oliver Muir drove from the Kelvington area with their family in order to register as stem cell donors at the Humboldt Broncos Get Swabbed event on Aug. 11. (Submitted photo/Becky Zimmer)

By Becky Zimmer

#getswabbed

Humboldt Broncos encourage stem cell registration in support of U18 teammate

Aug 12, 2023 | 7:00 AM

The Humboldt Broncos community is banding together once again to help one of their own.

Volunteers and hockey parents hosted a Get Swabbed event on Aug. 11 at the Bella Vista to encourage eligible stem cell donors to get registered. This was one of three drives being done in support of Archer Franklin, a member of the 2022-23 U18 AA Humboldt Broncos. At 17 years old, Franklin was diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia, a rare bone marrow disease.

“Archer needs a bone marrow match, as do many people in medical situations like this all over the world,” stated his family in a Facebook post.

Oliver Muir went to school with Franklin and played hockey with him in the past. He and Luke Muir drove from the Kelvington area to Humboldt to get swabbed.

Luke said that events like this define small-town life.

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“Somebody in a small community, they’re in a little bit of need and you want to do as much as you can, even though it doesn’t seem like a lot,” he said.

The best possible outcome is that they are a match and can donate bone marrow directly to Franklin, said Oliver, but if he comes to being a match for someone else, he has no doubt he will donate to them.

While they’re not eligible yet due to their age, Duke Brochu, Kyle Brockman, and Jace Lindbloom were in Humboldt to support their friend and fellow teammate with their moms helping people register and send their swabs to Canadian Blood Services.

All three plan to get swabbed when they become eligible at 17. Even if they aren’t a match for Franklin, Brochu said they know they can help someone out.

One other event was hosted in Kelvington on July 21. According to a Facebook post, a third event is coming up in Tisdale at a later date.

For more information on how to become a stem cell donor, visit the Canadian Blood Services website.

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becky.zimmer@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @bex_zim