Treasuring every day: Rycroft’s story

Weeks after his birth in 2022, Andrew Foster’s son Rycroft was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called Shwachman-Diamond syndrome. Unfortunately, the condition impacted him very quickly – his bone marrow began to fail, and he became seriously ill. Doctors told Andrew and his wife Catherine that Rycroft would need a stem cell transplant, to give him a chance to survive. Testing showed that no one within their immediate family was a compatible donor for Rycroft, so doctors turned to the stem cell donor register, where a match was found.

The gift of time

“It’s hard to put into words just what it feels like to hear the news that your child has got a chance,” recalls Andrew. “Within days of his transplant, Rycroft was cheerful and energetic. That was a real gift. He had a period of time when things were getting better – that gave us crucial hope, and something positive to hold on to.”

Tragically, after a successful transplant and a period of improvement, Rycroft contracted an infection whilst his immune system was still recovering post-transplant, and he died aged just 16 months.

Rycroft’s legacy

“Rycroft was so unlucky not to make the full recovery which a stem cell transplant has offered to so many others, but his transplant gave us more time with him, and every single day was so precious,” continues Andrew. “We’re desperately sad that he didn’t have a longer life, but we’re so grateful for all the time we had with him, and to the donor that was able to give us that little bit more. It’s not until your child needs a transplant that you realise how little most people know about stem cell donation – it’s such an amazing thing to do, and to honour Rycroft’s memory, I wanted to reach more people with that message.”

Andrew has campaigned tirelessly, and his lifelong love of rugby led to him initiating our new partnership with London Broncos. We are proud to remember Rycroft in this way. You can too, by ordering a swab kit and joining the stem cell register here.