The Perfect Match

Programmer's Notes

When Ghanaian father Jacob Marfo's toddler son is diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia, his family faces the devastating reality that finding a compatible stem cell donor may be the difference between life and death.
Living in Edmonton, Jacob soon discovers another painful reality: Black patients are less likely to find a matching donor because Black Canadians remain underrepresented on the stem cell registry. His search for a match becomes a deeply personal journey into the barriers that keep many Black people from joining the registry, including a longstanding mistrust of the medical system rooted in experiences of racism and discrimination.
Director Sandro Silva follows Jacob as he transforms his family's crisis into a mission to help others. Moving from community events to personal conversations, Jacob encourages young Black Canadians to take a simple cheek swab and join the registry. Amongst the family's stories are windows into the lives of other people living with sickle cell disorders and their own ways to advocate for their survival.
Through intimate storytelling and reenactments, The Perfect Match explores fatherhood, resilience, medical mistrust, and the power of community. One fat
Programmer, Safia Abdigir