We are hoping you can help us. Our two year old great-niece, Hazy, has been diagnosed with a rare type of leukaemia called Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia (JMML), for which the only treatment is a stem cell transplant.
Following a successful global appeal for a donor with the charity Anthony Nolan, an 8 out of 10 match was found earlier this year and Hazy underwent a gruelling conditioning treatment at Great Ormond Street Hospital, followed by a transplant in March and three months in isolation.
Since the family have come home we have been told that Hazy’s donor cells have been steadily dropping and the disease is returning. It has now been confirmed that she has relapsed; as you can imagine this is devastating news.
We are now looking for another donor, or a family expecting a baby who would be willing to donate the stem cells from the umbilical cord, for a second stem cell transplant in the autumn. It is overwhelmingly sad to think that we, and most of all Hazy, have to go through this again.
So, please, please if you are aged between 16-30 years old, add yourself to the national list of stem cell donors at www.anthonynolan.org and you could save Hazy, or one of the many other people needing a life-saving transplant.
Please also forward to anyone you know who might be able to help.
With all our hope and thanks
Johnny and Sarah van Haeften
