After an 8-year-old from Temple was diagnosed with leukemia, community members have joined to help her find a bone marrow match which could save her life.
On Thursday, Sinai Christian Daycare hosted a donor event with Scott & White Healthcare, to help bring the girl closer to finding the match she needs.
Cynthia Rios says her granddaughter Gabi was diagnosed with leukemia unexpectedly after a routine dentist visit.
“We went to the dentist [and] they were only supposed to be pulling out just one wisdom tooth. They wound up pulling two. That's when they told me she had leukemia", said Rios.
Gabi receives chemo therapy more than once a wee, and now she needs a bone marrow transplant.
Thanks to help from family members, Scott & White Healthcare and many others in the community, this is the third event to help Gabi find the perfect match.
In order to qualify to be the match for a person in need of a transplant you must:
- Be between 18-44 years old
- Commit to donating to any patient in need
- Confirm you’re in good health
There are two ways to donate one is the marrow donation which is a surgical procedure, another is a type of stem cell donation which is non-surgical.
Community Engagement Representative for Scott & White Healthcare Kelly Baker says, there is a strict process to become a donor, but if you have the heart to help you could save the life of someone with blood cancers and other disorders.
"A lot of people have preconceived notions about donations that it hurts its extremely painful and that’s just not the case."
Donating one day could give Gabi, and many others, many more days of life.
Copyright 2016 KXXV. All rights reserved.
