growlingsoulpup
New member
Hi guys,
I’m posting this on behalf of my friend, or more accurately, my friend’s sister.
Unfortunately, my friend’s 12-year-old sister is suffering from a blood disorder known as Severe Aplastic Anemia. I’m not too sure of the exact medical details, but from what I gather, aplastic anemia is essentially a disease whereby the bone marrow is unable to produce enough blood cells for the body. In the case of my friend’s sister, I think the body’s immune system has malfunctioned, with the white blood cells attacking the bone marrow.
It’s a very rare blood disorder because it only affects about 3 in 1 million people, so I’m sure you guys can imagine the impact it has on a 12-year-old and her family…emotionally, financially. The treatment that she has to undergo is called immunosuppressant, where her immune system is suppressed so that it does not attack her blood cells . It’s very financially taxing for the family, and the worst part is that this treatment does not in any way cure the disease, only suppress it. It also means that everywhere this girl goes, she has to be aware of coming into contact with germs, because with her immune system suppressed she has no defense against ordinary sicknesses like flu at all. This creates an even bigger financial burden on the family, because it means that she cannot travel by public transport for fear of being infected by something. She has to go everywhere by taxi, everyday. When you add those daily taxi fares onto a family budget already strained by thousands of dollars of medical and hospitalisation fees...you can imagine how tough it is.
Again, the immunosupression treatment only suppresses the disease, not cure it. There is no cure. The only hope this little girl has of living a normal life again is if she finds a suitable bone marrow donor who is willing to donate his/her bone marrow to her.
There are a few requirements before you can donate your bone marrow. Firstly, your blood type must be the same as hers (O+) before it can work. Secondly, I’m told that for higher chances of compatibility, the donor has to be the same race as the girl (Malay) but other races are not ruled out either.
If your blood type is O+, you can also contribute by being a blood donor. As I understand, at the time being she is receiving blood transfusions from the blood bank, which means the source of the blood is constantly changing. This makes it more difficult for her to accept the blood, because the body might attack it because it is foreign. If she has a list of regular blood donors to go through, this will allow her body to adapt to the blood easier.
If you’re willing, please contact 98924759 (the handphone number of my friend) or email her at nrlsya@live.com.
I know that this post is not the usual fare on this forum, but nonetheless, I hope that you guys will be able to help as much as you can. After all, isn’t rock and roll supposed to change the world?
Sure, none of us here is likely to feed the hungry in Africa or unite the nations in world peace or heal the world and make it a better place, like all those lofty rock and roll ideals go. But you can still change the world by changing this little girl’s world.
Please. Even if you’re not a suitable blood donor yourself, spread the word. Thank you.
I’m posting this on behalf of my friend, or more accurately, my friend’s sister.
Unfortunately, my friend’s 12-year-old sister is suffering from a blood disorder known as Severe Aplastic Anemia. I’m not too sure of the exact medical details, but from what I gather, aplastic anemia is essentially a disease whereby the bone marrow is unable to produce enough blood cells for the body. In the case of my friend’s sister, I think the body’s immune system has malfunctioned, with the white blood cells attacking the bone marrow.
It’s a very rare blood disorder because it only affects about 3 in 1 million people, so I’m sure you guys can imagine the impact it has on a 12-year-old and her family…emotionally, financially. The treatment that she has to undergo is called immunosuppressant, where her immune system is suppressed so that it does not attack her blood cells . It’s very financially taxing for the family, and the worst part is that this treatment does not in any way cure the disease, only suppress it. It also means that everywhere this girl goes, she has to be aware of coming into contact with germs, because with her immune system suppressed she has no defense against ordinary sicknesses like flu at all. This creates an even bigger financial burden on the family, because it means that she cannot travel by public transport for fear of being infected by something. She has to go everywhere by taxi, everyday. When you add those daily taxi fares onto a family budget already strained by thousands of dollars of medical and hospitalisation fees...you can imagine how tough it is.
Again, the immunosupression treatment only suppresses the disease, not cure it. There is no cure. The only hope this little girl has of living a normal life again is if she finds a suitable bone marrow donor who is willing to donate his/her bone marrow to her.
There are a few requirements before you can donate your bone marrow. Firstly, your blood type must be the same as hers (O+) before it can work. Secondly, I’m told that for higher chances of compatibility, the donor has to be the same race as the girl (Malay) but other races are not ruled out either.
If your blood type is O+, you can also contribute by being a blood donor. As I understand, at the time being she is receiving blood transfusions from the blood bank, which means the source of the blood is constantly changing. This makes it more difficult for her to accept the blood, because the body might attack it because it is foreign. If she has a list of regular blood donors to go through, this will allow her body to adapt to the blood easier.
If you’re willing, please contact 98924759 (the handphone number of my friend) or email her at nrlsya@live.com.
I know that this post is not the usual fare on this forum, but nonetheless, I hope that you guys will be able to help as much as you can. After all, isn’t rock and roll supposed to change the world?
Sure, none of us here is likely to feed the hungry in Africa or unite the nations in world peace or heal the world and make it a better place, like all those lofty rock and roll ideals go. But you can still change the world by changing this little girl’s world.
Please. Even if you’re not a suitable blood donor yourself, spread the word. Thank you.
