A boy donates stem cells to save his father

The question came at dinner toward the end of June.

- ANDREW J. CAMPA

STEPHEN MONDEK recovers from his stem cell donation at Cedars-Sinai.

Anesthesiologist Nick Mondek, 48, was dying of acute myeloid leukemia, a cancer that affects blood-forming cells in the bone marrow. It was a serious topic to tackle with his then-9-year-old son, Stephen, as they ate bowls of pasta.

But Mondek needed a stem cell donor — and fast. So he asked his son to save his life.

The youngster agreed to be tested at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to see if he could donate stem cells to his father.

The Rolling Hills Country Day School fourth-grader, who dreams of becoming a doctor for a Major League Baseball team, had his own question first: “When do we go?”

In July, Stephen became what Cedars-Sinai Medical Center believes is its youngest known stem cell donor.

“I just wanted to help,” Stephen said.

His donation not only buys his father time but also offers hope that Stephen's stem cells will build a newer, stronger immune system that will help his father fight off blood cancer.

“I wanted him to do this as his own decision,” Mondek said. “I didn’t want him to feel forced. I didn’t want him to feel like he had to do it." Mondek's journey from doctor to patient began in April 2022.

The then-45-year-old, an employee at the Martin Luther King Jr. Ambulatory Surgery Center, felt constantly fatigued with little appetite. Then one day he couldn't turn his head. His resting heart rate jumped from a standard 60 beats per minute to a concerning, racing 100 bpm.