Dallas chef Dean Fearing’s son needs our help!


Dallas chef Dean Fearing’s 22-year-old son Campbell is battling an aggressive form of leukemia and needs our help.

A bone marrow transplant from someone with the right DNA could save his life. You might be that donor.

“Yes, I’m a good person,” you might be thinking, “but that sounds like it would hurt.”

Nope, usually not.

Most donors can donate the stem cells in their blood, so you’d donate your blood, not your bones or marrow. Of course, there’s nit-pickity details, but the ultimate decision to donate or not is always yours.

How do you know if you might be able to help? A quick swab inside your cheek will see if you’re a potential match. If you’re in good health and 18-55 years old, head to Lovers Seafood this Sunday, Jan. 22, from  11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the quick test.

Here are details and more, from Campbell’s parents, Dean and Lynae (Campbell works at Lovers Seafood, a restaurant his mother co-owns and operates. Campbell works there part-time while attending Dallas Baptist University):

Campbell Fearing is undergoing his second round of chemotherapy (at Presbyterian Hospital Dallas). Without a blood stem cell transplant, also known as a bone marrow transplant, his survival rate is not as high. About 15,000 people in the US are looking for a donor.

About 70% of people with blood-related diseases need a donor outside of their family, says the non-profit bone marrow donor center DKMS. All of the Fearing’s family members have been tested, but none are 100% compatible. (Once a donor is identified), the donor would receive injections to overproduce blood stem cells. An operation on the donor is not to be expected, since the blood stem cells can be obtained by taking a blood sample lasting several hours.

The family says Campbell was diagnosed Thanksgiving weekend and has been hospitalized and receiving chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukemia since then.