The family of a Canadian teenager with two rare blood diseases has made a desperate plea to the Filipino community in a bid to find a life-saving stem cell match.
This summer, Roshlind Mance was diagnosed with aplastic anemia and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria or PNH. The only cure for the life-threatening disorders is a cell transplant.
The 16-year-old is confined to her Calgary home, her only outings to the hospital twice a week for blood transfusions.
âItâs a very simple procedure to save my sisterâs life,â Adrienne San Juan told CTVâs Your Morning.
Roshlindâs relatives were heartbroken to discover they are not suitable donors and the odds for Roshlind are slim, with her best chance now a match from someone of the same ethnicity.
Canadian Blood Services told Âéśš´ŤĂ˝ that only 0.9 per cent of the adult stem cell donor database is Filipino.
âI think the stigma with why thereâs such a low Filipino donor pool is because they think itâs some sort of big surgical procedure, when in reality itâs just a small day procedure,â she said.
âWe really are trying our best to help, not just her, but hopefully the 34 other Filipino Canadians waiting for a match as well.â
At the moment Roshlind is stable, the familyâs last trip to the emergency room was Thanksgiving weekend.
âBut she is quite tired and usually in pain,â Adrienne said.
Roshlindâs family has already held donor drives in Edmonton and Winnipeg.
âDue to the amount of work that weâve put in and the amount of Filipinos in the cities that we did drives in, I still donât think that itâs enough,â Adrienne said.
âI still donât think that weâre getting that awareness out there as much as weâd like to.â
Donors can go to any Canadian Blood Services clinic and do a self-swab of their cheek or visit the website , fill out a health questionnaire and CBS will mail a swab kit with return postage.
âHopefully other families wonât have to go through this big fight to find a match,â Adrienne said.
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