The parents of seven year old Rhiane Francois are asking the public to make it their New Year’s resolution to join our bone marrow donor register – it might just save their daughter’s life.
Rhiane from Whitley near Coventry was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia in September 2013 and is currently undergoing chemotherapy treatment. Doctors have told her parents that if the chemotherapy is not successful, Rhiane will need a bone marrow transplant. We are currently searching our register for a suitable bone marrow donor.
But worryingly, people from ethnic minority backgrounds are under-represented on the register which may affect the youngster’s chances of finding a match. Rhiane’s mother, Tanisha, is Asian and her father, Jean-Claude, is Mauritian. Rhiane’s mixed ethnicity will make it more difficult to find a suitable donor as a matching donor is most likely to come from someone of a similar ethnic background.
Tanisha, Rhiane’s mother, said: “When Rhiane was diagnosed, our world turned upside down and it felt like someone had stabbed me in the heart. You just never think that something like this is going to happen to your child.”
Rhiane, who is currently being treated in Birmingham Children’s Hospital, will find out if her chemotherapy has been successful in February or if she needs to undergo a bone marrow transplant.
Tanisha added: “If Rhiane needs a bone marrow transplant, we will need to find a matching donor quickly to save her life. That’s why we are urging everyone eligible to join Anthony Nolan’s bone marrow register now, especially people from ethnic minorities. You could be a matching donor for Rhiane or someone else out there who desperately needs a transplant.”
Bhaveshree Chandegra, our Asian Campaign Recruitment Manager, said: “It’s hard to think of a more worthwhile New Year’s resolution than signing up to save the life of a stranger in their time of need, and unlike many resolutions, it’s so simple to do. Joining the bone marrow register is very easy and many people don’t realise that donating is so straightforward – in 90% of cases, it’s a similar procedure to giving blood.”
Dr Mark Velangi, Consultant Paediatric Haematologist at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, described Rhiane as a “brave young lady”, and added: “We know from first-hand experience the difficulty we can face in the search for donors from ethnic minority backgrounds and are so proud of Rhiane and her family for continuing to raise awareness of bone marrow donation.”
Find out more about joining our bone marrow register.
