Alberta toddler dies waiting for stem cell donor; father continues donor campaign

A two-year-old boy from Lac La Biche, Alta., whose search for a stem cell donor captured hearts and headlines across the country, died Friday as he waited for a match.

Ezra Marfo was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia in 2021. 

His father, Jacob Marfo, became a stem cell donor to help Ezra, but was not a perfect match.

That’s when he began a national campaign, known as Swab4Ezra, to find a donor match for his son.

“Even though he was on this earth for just about two years or a little over two years with what we started to bring awareness to the stem cell drive, especially the need for