Jean-Charles Deval, 26, has twice donated his bone marrow: to his sister and to a stranger.
Since he was 18, he has been on the donor register and has been raising awareness among young people in the media, high schools and the campaigns of the Biomedicine Agency.
Sponsor of the awareness campaign for bone marrow donation, the actor met
20 Minutes
in Paris.
At only 26 years old, Jean-Charles Deval has already given twice.
Not his blood, platelets, or semen.
No, his bone marrow.
An unrecognized and yet simple gift, which cures 80% of serious blood diseases.
The Biomedicine Agency (which deals with donations and transplants) has set itself the challenge, in this year 2021, to recruit 20,000 new donors by September, even though the age limit has dropped (see box).
This is why the actor (
Our dear neighbors
,
The Would I Lie 4
,
Women's 6
th
floor,
Hippocrates
), we met in Paris over coffee tirelessly continues to tell his story to raise awareness of donation bone marrow.
“I was sure to be compatible!
"
" It hurts ?
How do we register?
But in fact, it's super easy!
This is the kind of reaction to which Jean-Charles has grown used to since time.
Because he is one of the very involved donors.
Even would be the only French to have twice donated his bone marrow.
The first time was for his big sister, Anne-Sophie.
It was thanks to her that he discovered his passion and his vocation when he was 10 years old.
Engaged for Gérard Mordillat's telefilm
L'Île Atlantique,
she takes him to the cast.
"
She put the foot in the stirrup, but it will be the only film we have played together. “Because a year later, Anne-Sophie, 15, suffers from lymphoma. For eight months, she was hospitalized. "Including 77 days in a coma," he recalls. She didn't pretend… When you have your brother or sister sick, it's almost animal to want to help. I wrote letters to doctors to give ideas. "
To save her, she would need a bone marrow transplant.
Knowing that parents cannot give to their children and that in a sibling, there is a one in four chance that it will stick.
“I was sure to be compatible!
», Continues Jean-Charles.
Bingo, the analyzes confirm his foreboding.
“The doctors explained things to me very well.
I was neither afraid nor in doubt.
Basically, I had a general anesthesia and I woke up with a bruise on the buttocks… Anne-Sophie was followed by a wonderful doctor, who became famous later, Agnès Buzyn [former Minister of Health].
She slept with the patients and cried with the families.
There must have been tears in the Deval family.
After four months of improvement, Anne-Sophie is swept away by pneumonia.
He registers to give again at the age of 18
Far from being discouraged, the young man, the month of his 18 years, will register on the register of bone marrow donors at the French Blood Establishment (EFS). “When someone says to me 'You are going to be able to make yourself useful', I answer 'Where do we sign? Now it's easier, you can do it online. During the preliminary interview, the doctor is surprised at his young age. "Sign up, that's fine, but you're an actor, you can speak up higher." This is how Jean-Charles found himself sponsor of the mobilization for bone marrow donation from his majority.
But this is only the beginning. In May 2019, he received a message from the Biomedicine Agency. “I thought it was for an interview,” he recalls. But surprise, I am told: "You are compatible with someone who needs a bone marrow donation, are you still voluntary?". I've been talking about it for years, so the day I can do it again, I go for it. Knowing that people on the registry have a one in 1 million chance of being compatible with a stranger.
See you on July 1 at Saint-Antoine Hospital. This time, Jean-Charles is experimenting with donation by cytapheresis, without general anesthesia. “Medicine evolves, so much the better! It looks like the donation of platelets: a plug in each arm, a big spinning machine, zero pain, we lie down for 3 hours, we can sleep, which I did not hesitate to do! I had returned from a tour at 2 a.m. At one point, I turn on the TV and I see myself in
Our Dear Neighbors
! "
In June 2020, the Biomedicine Agency contacted him again to ask for an additional donation for the same patient. “I agreed, obviously. But I wondered if he was okay. I was told that he was doing very well. Without going into any detail. Because bone marrow donation, like any donation in France, is anonymous and free. So Jean-Charles will only know about this stranger two things: "he is a young man, and we were the same weight at the time of the operation". And will have to be satisfied with it. “I find it incredible that we have the same genetic code, the compatibility is so improbable… I would have been very happy to meet him, but I understand the reasons why it remains anonymous. Some are unarmed if things go wrong. And we should not go into unethical tricks of blackmail, money… ”
“It’s harmless, I’m the best example!
"
Jean-Charles therefore wears his “life watchman” badge everywhere, a good gateway to raise awareness around him.
“That people prefer not to give, I am not judging.
On the other hand, when they could be volunteers but did not register on the register due to ignorance, we did not do our job.
"
In high schools, in the media, around him, Jean-Charles repeats over and over again that no, this donation does not hurt.
“Today, 70% of donations are made by cytapheresis, so it's very light.
The bone marrow is rebuilt in a short time.
It's harmless, I am the best example!
Unfortunately, there is confusion between bone marrow donation and spinal cord donation.
"
He therefore suggests that we talk about it during Defense and Citizenship Day, “because it is compulsory and we are not far from 18 years old.
"While welcoming the progress made:" We went from 170,000 to 300,000 registered on the register in a few years.
So it's moving forward!
My greatest pride was the day when explaining my career on France Bleu, the Biomedicine Agency server jumped.
Too many connections.
That is the class !
"
Health
Young people ready to donate their blood and their post-mortem organs, a little less their bone marrow and their gametes
Society
Bone marrow transplant: "It's strange, I have the impression that we are connected"
A lowered age limit
Since January 2021, you can only register on the donor register if you are between 18 and 35 years old (compared to 50 years previously).
The younger a donor registers, the longer they stay on the register, and therefore more likely to be able to help a patient.
Today, only 38% of registered donors are under 35 years old.
This shows how much it is essential to reach a young audience in order to reach the # 20,000 target by September.
Graft
Youth
Blood
Health
Don