Eighteen-month-old Liya is fighting acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and she urgently needs a bone marrow transplant. After receiving the diagnosis in February, Liya’s parents were devastated and began the quest to find a match for their little girl.
There is currently nobody on the worldwide registry who is a close enough genetic match for Liya. Recalling the moment she heard the news Liya’s mom, Hatice said: “I couldn’t breathe. I felt like my heart had been stabbed over and over again. I just sobbed. All I wanted to do was leave the room and go and cuddle my baby.”
Because of the urgency of Liya’s situation, she must receive a blood stem cell transplant by the end of July. In the absence of a perfect match, doctors are planning to move ahead with her dad Ufuk as the donor – however he is only a 50% match, which is much less than ideally required.
“The only way we can keep our baby with us is you. We are so devastated, and are asking everyone to help our daughter become a happy, healthy girl again”.
Step up and register to be a donor. You could be Liya’s perfect match.