LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A family in Louisville is helping people of color find stem cell and bone marrow donors. 

The Lowman family has a 3-year-old son with a rare form of brain cancer and is using their story to raise awareness for other children. 

What You Need To Know

  • Trey Lowman is just 3-years-old and has been fighting a rare form of brain cancer and almost needed a bone marrow transplant

  • Trey Lowman is doing better, but the Lowman family wants to raise awarness to help save other children’s lives

  • Be the Match was at the Hurstborne Baptist Church swabbing people to expand its database of blood stem cells and marrow donors

  • African-Americans only make up 20% of the database, according to a Be the Match recruitment coordinator. They need more people of color to sign up to be donors

For almost a year, 3-year-old Trey Lowman has been fighting a rare form of brain cancer.

“It starts in the brain. It can go to the blood and go to the spine and it’s really aggressive,” said Gregory Lowman, Trey Lowman’s father.

Gregory Lowman said Trey Lowman urgently needed a bone marrow donation earlier this year. But things have changed.

“So as of right now, Trey’s numbers came up on their own. Trey received high-dose chemo, and his numbers didn’t come up, I think, for a long time. They didn’t come up for a while and now they finally came up and he no longer needs a transplant,” he said. 

Trey Lowman is doing better, but his family said they still want to raise awareness to help save other children’s lives.

“Whether you’re going through cancer, sickle cell, any of that, you need these stem cells,” Gregory Lowman said. “If not a lot of African-Americans are signed up to donate — or even to get tested — then that limits the number of opportunities the other kids have to be saved.”

An organization called Be the Match was at the Hurstborne Baptist Church swabbing people to expand its database of blood stem cells and marrow donors. Its recruitment coordinator said the database does not have enough people of color.

“Unfortunately, African-Americans only make up 20% of the database. So, the odds of finding the donor match is very slim-to-none. So that’s why we’re here today,” said Dannielle Moore, recruitment coordinator for Be the Match. 

Moore said only one out of 220 people in the database actually make a donation — meaning finding a match is no easy task. The Lowman family has made it their mission to get more matches for other families.

“When we were going through this process and it felt like it was the end because we couldn’t find a match — no other family should have to go through that. So, [the] least that we can do is to spread the word and use my son’s story to get the message out there, so other parents at least have a fighting chance,” Gregory Lowman said. 

Right now, Trey Lowman is in Cincinnati prepping for radiation treatment. 

If you are looking to become a donor or to help the Lowman family, text “Grey for Trey” to 61474 or check the Be the Match website. 

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