A Halifax man in need of a bone marrow transplant from his brother in Gaza has died.

Mohammed Abuquta was diagnosed with myeloid leukemia in November. His brother, Mahmoud, tested to be his bone marrow match, but he was in Gaza.

It took months of bureaucracy for Mahmoud Abuquta to get out of Gaza, and finally get permission to enter Canada.

The brothers shared a tearful reunion on May 8 in Halifax.

Shortly after, Mohammed Abuquta relapsed. He went through more chemotherapy and radiation, before contracting an infection. His sister says he became too sick for the transplant and died early Friday morning.

Helping others

Abuquta's battle showed the need to diversify the OneMatch Network, Canada's stem cell registry.

The vast majority of potential donors — 71 per cent — are Caucasian, and ethnicity plays a significant role in matches. Finding a match has similar odds to winning the lottery.

Over the last few months, Abuquta's friends held several registration drives at a Halifax mosque to encourage people of all backgrounds to add their names to the list.

They were hopeful that his story would inspire more people across the country to sign up and potentially help others.