Everton give young fan Finn McEwan a day to remember

Sky Sports News' Fraser Dainton reports from Everton's Finch Farm training ground on a very special day for one young fan...

Seven-year-old Finn McEwen's face beams with joy as he shakes hands with Romelu Lukaku - the player’s name is emblazoned on the back of his shirt. John Stones, Leighton Baines and big Duncan Ferguson also come and say hello. It’s almost a bit too much for Finn and his brother Lucas to take in.

Everton are a club that take the idea of being a family very seriously, and when one of the family is in dire need, Everton pull out all the stops. Finn desperately needs a blood stem cell transplant, before it’s too late. He has a very rare condition called Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) - it can’t be treated with chemotherapy, so a transplant is his only hope.

The diagnosis came as a huge shock to the family - his Dad Neil was devastated :  “It knocked us all for six. They’ve nicknamed me tiny tears because I’ve cried so much. And yet Finn will tap me on the shoulder and say, 'look Dad, it will all be alright'. It absolutely breaks your heart.”  

As well as giving Finn a lift, the idea of the visit is to help raise awareness of the condition, and encourage people to join the UK stem cell registry. Everyone who signs on at www.deletebloodcancer.org.uk will be sent a simple kit to take a swab of saliva.

This is then posted back, analysed and cross-matched against patients who need a transplant. Provided you’re between the age of 18 and 55, and in good health, you can complete the process quickly and easily, and could help save a life.

Neil lives in hope: “We’re just waiting for the match now. All it takes is one person, and that’s all we need. The response has been amazing. We spoke to Delete Blood Cancer last Wednesday, and within 24 hours they had another 3,000 people registered from the North West area. From then on, the response has been unbelievable.” 

Every 20 minutes, someone in the UK is diagnosed with some form of blood cancer - that’s over 70 people a day - 25,000 a year. Stem Cell donation could be the key to their survival, but at present, less than 50 per cent will find a match.

“Hopefully more and more people will sign up, and we can get Finn fixed," adds Neil. "Hopefully a year down the line he can be back playing football himself. I’d be a proud Dad if one day he played for Everton, but don’t get me wrong - I’m so proud of him right now - I absolutely love him, and he’s amazing. Fingers crossed that something happens.”