9 YEAR OLD GIRL WITH LEUKAEMIA NEEDS YOUR HELP

[lenaschildminding]

Bethany's desperate bid

A nine-year-old girl is desperate to find a bone marrow donor as she battles against leukaemia.

Bethany Mickleburgh was diagnosed with the illness when she was three, but after two years of chemotherapy treatment her family thought she had recovered.

She was in remission for three years - but the disease returned. Now, doctors say her best chance of a cure is a transplant.

Bethany's parents, Veronica and Jonathan, of Western Park, are urging people to come forward and be tested to see if they are a match for their daughter or any of the other 7,000 people in the UK who need similar transplants.

Veronica, 44, said: 'It would be fantastic to find a match, but there could be potentially be a match for many others.?

'We've spent the last four months on the oncology ward at Leicester Royal Infirmary and seen a number of children who are in desperate need of bone marrow transplants.

'To save somebody's life must be one of the most wonderful things you can do.'

Bethany's parents and sister Jemma, 12, have all been tested but were not matches.

Bethany has been receiving more intensive chemotherapy since she relapsed in February and has been allowed to come home from hospital while a worldwide search continues to find a match.

Her parents describe her as a 'typical nine-year-old', who loves school and enjoys seeing her friends. Classmates have been sending her letters every week she has been in hospital. Jonathan, 45, said: 'At this moment she's bright as a button.

'She has had all these months of intensive chemotherapy with all the nausea, hair loss and pain that goes with it, but she's coped very well and she's able to be at home and play with her sister and go for a walk around the block .

?Bethany is a happy kid, but she can't keep relapsing.?

Nigel Gorvett, from the Anthony Nolan Trust said: 'This story is a stark reminder that leukaemia can affect any person of any age, and we are hoping that the people of Leicester and surrounding areas, if eligible, will think seriously about becoming donors.'

The clinic will take place at NEWBRIDGE SCHOOL,
FOREST ROAD
COALVILLE
LEICESTERSHIRE

ON MONDAY 7TH AUGUST 2006 5PM ? 8PM

Anybody who is aged between 18 and 40, who is in good health, weighs more than 8st (51 kg), but is not severely overweight, and is willing to donate stem cells to any patient, is asked to attend .

At the donor clinic, you will be asked to have a simple blood test.

For more information, you can contact The Anthony Nolan Trust by e-mail, by calling the 24-hour hotline, 0901 8822234, or via the website www.anthonynolan.org.uk

Thanks for this.I know a little girl with Leukaemia & have been meaning to go on the donation register for ages.This should push me to actually do it.

I am on the register but bumping for you

I live no where near but have been wanting to go on the register for a while now.
But, why do you have to weigh over 8 stone? I am only 7 and a half, 25 yrs old healthy so would i still be able to help?

Thanks to those that have read this thread.

Bethany continues to do well despite a match still not being found.

The donor clinics have done quite well in signing up new members of the donor register.

For more information on joining, please check out the Anthony Nolan website. www.anthonynolan.org.uk

You can also contact The Anthony Nolan Trust by e-mail, by calling the 24-hour hotline, 0901 8822234.

Many thanks.

Sadly I can't, as I am too old.

crossing fingers etc that a match will be found. Thank god dh has a match in one of his brother's bone marrow.

Also regretfully, im too old at 44,but i will print this off an put up in a few thought of places like church ,play group, nursery.....with your permission.. lenaschildminding.

Thank you for a wonderful thought cowmad.

Any publicity is greatly recieved, there are so many people waiting for bone marrow donors, many of them little children like Bethany, I lost my own son to Neuroblastoma 4 years ago, he would be 9 in a couple of weeks time. My husband also lost a son to Leukaemia 5 years ago, he was the tender age of 16 months. We know too well the pain of childhood cancer, for the child and for the parents and extended family and friends. We know 26 children that have lost their battles against the disease in the two year period our boys were being treated. That was in just one ward of one hospital in the UK. Many of these kids needed bone marrow transplants, some found close matches, but unfortunately not close enough and their bodies rejected the transplant. More donors are needed, especially men. Apparently, they can be better matches and also more available as they don't need 'time out' to have babies! For more information please look at the Anthony Nolan Website.

Thanks again for your thoughtful kindness.

The search for a Bone Marrow Match for Bethany continues and she is currently doing as well as can be expected on Chemo.

Please, please, please join the Anthony Nolan Register, its free, its painless and YOU could save a life...

Please please please....

Everyone who can, please join the bone marrow donor register.

Another one of my friends daughters has relapsed after 7 years in remission with Leukaemia.

Her name is Francesca, she was originally diagnosed the same time as Bethany and my son Jack, who lost his battle against Neuroblastoma. They were all just 3 years old. Frans now approaching her 10th Birthday and she will be spending it in hospital on intensive Chemo.

Bethany is still on Chemo, as a match still hasn't been found for her.

Please contact the Anthony Nolan Trust and join the register. You could save a life.

bump

So does anyone know is there a limit to how many times you could potentially donate?

Are there local clinics for testing?
Sorry know nothing about this.

If you are a regular blood donor you can ask to be put on their bone marrow register as it runs alongside the antony nolan one. That way you can help with the bone marrow if you are matched and also your pint of blood three times a year will be very much needed by anybody with leukaemia and other cancers.

You need to be a certain weight so that after donating a unit of blood or bone marrow there will still be enough in you (percentage wise) to keep you fit and healthy, also the age limit is because it costs a lot to do a full blood and tissue type (which they only do if you are a rough match for a patient) but once done those values stay on the register in case another similar patient comes up which may be another ten or twenty years.

At least with the blood you can go on longer and each time will definitely help a patient.

Francesca continues to do reasonably well on chemo, she has lost all her hair now, bless her, she'd been growing it for the last 7 years, it's so much harder for the girls to cope with this. there are clinics for potential bone marrow donors to go to, usually run by The Anthony Nolan Trust. If you look at their website it should give details. I've cut and pasted this from their site:

You can obtain an information pack and medical questionnaire in four ways:
downloading the leaflets:
"Commit to a Life Saving Procedure Now"
"Completing this Form could Save a Life"
(You?ll need Acrobat Reader to do this : if you don?t have Acrobat, please click here. It's free and painless!).

Please read the information leaflet carefully to ensure that you understand what bone marrow/blood stem cell donation could involve and whether you consider you could go forward with such an undertaking. If you do wish to proceed, please fill in the downloaded application form and return it to us at:

Donor Recruitment
The Anthony Nolan Trust
P O Box 1767
London NW3 4YR

On receipt of this form, we will check it to ensure that you qualify medically to proceed and then we will contact you again for Stage 2 of the process
calling our hotline number - 0901 88 22 234 : calls are charged at 25p per minute and a proportion of the call charge comes to the Trust
writing to us at this address, ensuring you provide us with your name, date of birth and home address so that we can respond to you
attending a donor recruitment clinic near you
email us at [email protected]
Attending a Clinic
We hold donor recruitment clinics all around the UK and there may be a clinic scheduled to take place near you during the next 4 weeks. If you would prefer to attend one of these, please call our Donor Recruitment Department on 020 7284 1234 to ask for details of clinics in your area or click here for the latest details.

If you attend a clinic, we will give you time to read over documentation and complete a medical history questionnaire to ensure that you meet our medical criteria, you understand the importance of the commitment you are making, as well as what will happen if you are identified as a potential match.

A trained phlebotomist will take a blood sample from your arm. Then, if you're lucky, you'll be offered tea and a biscuit - but we can't guarantee this part!

If there is no clinic scheduled for the time being in your area or you don?t want to attend a clinic, you can apply by post to join and you will need to read the same documentation and complete the same questionnaire.

Some medical conditions prevent people from becoming potential donors but, in the majority of cases, would-be volunteers are able to move on to the second stage of registering.

Stage 2 : Giving a blood sample (if you have not attended a recruitment clinic)

We next send you a blood testing kit which you can take to your local GP, health clinic or hospital where a small sample of your blood will be taken - about 4ml.

On no account attempt to take the sample yourself.

Stage 3 : Testing your blood sample

The blood sample can be posted to our laboratories, using the reply-paid packaging provided. The sample will be tested to establish your tissue type and the results are stored on our database, which is, of course, confidential.

Stage 4 : Registration as a potential bone marrow donor

As a new member of the Register you will receive a registration card and postal confirmation of your status as a potential life saver a few weeks after having provided your sample.

You may be found to be a match for a patient almost immediately; other people wait many years before being asked to donate - and some never are.

Every single person on our Register is still making a wonderful commitment ? to make themselves available to support another person in need of a life saving transplant.

Once you are on the Register it is imperative for us to stay in contact with you. Please tell us immediately of any changes to your contact details including your telephone and mobile numbers. REMEMBER YOU COULD BE THE ONLY DONOR IN THE WORLD FOR A PARTICULAR PATIENT.

how to join the Bone Marrow Donor Register

Ungratefuldaughter, you are so right, donating blood is so easy, all you have to do is lay down for 20mins, then have a free biscuit or two and a cuppa!!! You are allowed paid time off work for it too!!!!

During my son's illness he recieved 43 bags of blood! Most of the kids on the ward were the same blood group as me and it gave me comfort in knowing I was helping to save their lives.

You can find out where to give blood here