Swab Fest hopes to save lives

By Kate WeidawUpdated: Thursday, May 8, 2014, 5:49 amPublished: Thursday, May 8, 2014, 5:36 am

AUSTIN (KXAN) In spite of the pending rain, Thursday is an opportunity to help someone fighting cancer beat it.

Its being called Swab Fest. and its an effort to get more people to sign up to be stem cell donors on the national registry.

The festival was organized to try and find a match for Austinite Brady Oman, 61, who found out he had leukemia at the beginning of the year.

He is on his fourth round of chemo and in desperate need of a stem cell transplant, said Susan Wise, Brady Omans partner.

Before Oman ended up at MD Anderson battling leukemia he thought in January a bad cold wouldnt go away.

Within days he ended up at the hospital thinking it was a heart attack because he couldnt breathe or see well.

They said good news you didnt have a heart attack, bad news normal high for white blood cell is 10,000 and yours is 190,000 you have leukemia and it was all in one sentence, said Wise.

So far the chemo has saved his life but the clock is ticking and he needs to find a stem cell donor fast.

Its really his only chance for long term remission, said Wise.

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Swab Fest hopes to save lives