Pieting for traffic. Urgently need to find a match for my friend's 2 year old daughter. We need a donor by June to save her. Please see message and link below
Dear Friends,
I would like to make a heartfelt request following the devastating news that my beautiful 2 year old daughter, Livia, who has very recently been diagnosed with a very rare form of leukaemia (AML). Only 5 children are diagnosed with this condition in the UK each year.
While she is receiving amazing care at the world renowned childrens‘ hospital in London, Great Ormond Street Hospital and has already started chemotherapy, part of Livia’s treatment is a complete bone marrow transplant. It is heart breaking to watch our young daughter bravely battle what will be the toughest fight she will ever face and she has already been through so much, but she is only at the beginning of this long, hard journey.
Given the aggressive nature of Livia’s condition the race is on to search globally for a suitable blood stem cell donor match. Obviously this is a mammoth task but Livia’s oncology consultant and her medical team are still remaining positive and working hard to help Livia overcome this awful illness. They have provided us with a link where people can check their eligibility and request a simple swab testing kit to see if they may be a suitable donor:
www.dkms.org.uk/en/register-now
Aside from our very personal battle, in these times of great uncertainty with the dreadful fallout from coronavirus, I am asking my friends and colleagues to see if there is a way we can come together and do some good and reach towards the amazing goal of helping Livia by visiting the above website. All it takes is to answer a few simple questions and if you are eligible (one criteria is you must be between the ages of 18 and 55), to then request a swab kit, which is returnable by post.
The odds are, you may never be called upon, but if you are, that’s when you will have the opportunity to give someone like my daughter a second chance of life by donating some of your blood stem cells, which is a very straight forward procedure.
I would ask you to not delay and check straight away, as it takes up to 8 weeks to process any test to confirm a match under normal circumstances, so time is running out fast as the doctors said Livia will need the transplant in around 10 weeks.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time and reading my message and for visiting the donor website. However, if I can also make one last request and ask you to forward this message to all of your family and friends, to give Livia the best chance of finding a match.
With much love and gratitude,
Livia’s mum.