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| Crawley: Hundreds sign up for stem cell donation to save girl | |
| (30 days later) | |
| Amilah, 10, and her mother organised an event for people to become stem cell donors | Amilah, 10, and her mother organised an event for people to become stem cell donors |
| A campaign to find a 'hero' donor match for a 10-year-old girl saw 259 people in Crawley join the stem cell register. | A campaign to find a 'hero' donor match for a 10-year-old girl saw 259 people in Crawley join the stem cell register. |
| Amilah, from Horsham in West Sussex, suffers from a rare blood disorder and is one of thousands of people in desperate need of a stem cell transplant. | Amilah, from Horsham in West Sussex, suffers from a rare blood disorder and is one of thousands of people in desperate need of a stem cell transplant. |
| As Amilah - whose name means hope in Arabic - has Pakistani heritage, she is more likely to have a unique tissue type, which makes finding a donor even harder. | As Amilah - whose name means hope in Arabic - has Pakistani heritage, she is more likely to have a unique tissue type, which makes finding a donor even harder. |
| Only around 16% of stem cell donors are from black, Asian or minority ethnic backgrounds, according to blood cancer charity DKMS. | Only around 16% of stem cell donors are from black, Asian or minority ethnic backgrounds, according to blood cancer charity DKMS. |
| "At the moment there are too many people, particularly from minority ethnicities, who are waiting too long for a transplant match," said Deborah Hyde, from DKMS. | "At the moment there are too many people, particularly from minority ethnicities, who are waiting too long for a transplant match," said Deborah Hyde, from DKMS. |
| "We want to offer hope to as many people as possible." | "We want to offer hope to as many people as possible." |
| Most stem cell matches are found within the same ethnic group | Most stem cell matches are found within the same ethnic group |
| To register as a donor, people gave swabs of their saliva. | To register as a donor, people gave swabs of their saliva. |
| The swabs will be sent to a laboratory, where medical staff will analyse different genetic factors which indicate whether someone is a suitable stem cell match. | The swabs will be sent to a laboratory, where medical staff will analyse different genetic factors which indicate whether someone is a suitable stem cell match. |
| Amilah says a stem cell donation would be a second chance at life. | Amilah says a stem cell donation would be a second chance at life. |
| She has aplastic anaemia, which causes low blood levels, risk of severe infection, and extreme tiredness. | She has aplastic anaemia, which causes low blood levels, risk of severe infection, and extreme tiredness. |
| If she finds a donor, Amilah said: "They could become a hero." | If she finds a donor, Amilah said: "They could become a hero." |
| She said she would love to be able to play the sports she had to give up after her diagnosis. | She said she would love to be able to play the sports she had to give up after her diagnosis. |
| "It would make my life better because nobody would have to worry about me." | "It would make my life better because nobody would have to worry about me." |
| Amilah's mother, Mobeen, said "the whole world just crumbled" when they were given the diagnosis. | Amilah's mother, Mobeen, said "the whole world just crumbled" when they were given the diagnosis. |
| No one in Amilah's family is a stem cell match, so they hope one of the hundreds of people who signed up will be suitable. | No one in Amilah's family is a stem cell match, so they hope one of the hundreds of people who signed up will be suitable. |
| "We caught it very early, so we're very lucky in that sense," her mother said. | "We caught it very early, so we're very lucky in that sense," her mother said. |
| Mobeen believes that, at this stage, a stem cell transfusion could provide a complete cure for Amilah. | Mobeen believes that, at this stage, a stem cell transfusion could provide a complete cure for Amilah. |