Donor found for girl with rare blood disorder

A stem cell donor has been found for a 10-year-old girl with a rare and potentially fatal blood disorder after a campaign to find a match.

Amilah, from Crawley in West Sussex, was diagnosed with aplastic anaemia in October after unexplained bruising on her shins.

After a long wait, her family has now received the news that someone from the register of charity DKMS has been identified as a match after a campaign for more people to come forward.

Amilah's mother, Mobeen, said: "You hear so much negative news every day, but seeing people respond as they have really restores your faith in humanity."

She added: "If that person hadn't done a quick cheek swab and joined the donor register, we might still be waiting, and our daughter's future might still be hanging in the balance."

Doctors said Amilah did not need the transplant yet, but could need one eventually.

Aplastic anaemia occurs when the bone marrow cannot make enough new blood cells for the body to work normally, making it harder to fight infection, stop bleeding or carry oxygen.

A transplant introduces healthy stem cells into the bloodstream to help produce new blood cells.

As Amilah - whose name means hope in Arabic - has Pakistani heritage, she is more likely to have a unique tissue type.

This meant she was less likely to find a donor on UK registers compared to patients from white, northern European backgrounds.

When doctors told Mobeen a stem cell transplant was the only hope for a cure for her daughter's condition, she called for more people from ethnic minorities to sign up to become donors.

Blood cancer and disorder charity DKMS said just 2.4% of the UK population was on its donor register - with 16% being from ethnic minority backgrounds.

As part of World Blood Cancer Day on Wednesday, Amilah and her mother are urging everyone aged between 17–55 and in good general health to order a free swab kit on the DKMS website to be added to the register.

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