In May this year, a Bristol family got a shock when one-and-a-half-year-old Elaiya was diagnosed with Leukaemia. The little girl is now in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant but so far there has been no match found.
The family is now running out of time. They set up a campaign in an attempt to save baby Elaiya and others in need of a life-saving bone marrow transplant, which has seen an increase in donations , but so far none that are a match for the baby whose immune system is currently so low, catching a cold could be fatal.
Elaiya’s grandfather Mazhar Iqbal said the news came as a shock when they found out that Elayia, who was previously healthy, was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. Mr Iqbal said: “We were at a family wedding on May 15 and Elaiya was happy as she always is, a bright, active child but then a week later she got taken into hospital with a fever.”
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After several tests, Elaiya was taken to a hospital in Nottingham where she received her diagnosis. Despite there currently being around 37 million people on the donor’s list, not one of them is a suitable match for Elaiya.
Monday (July 4) was the last day Mr Iqbal was able to see his granddaughter for several months as her 'immunity levels are below zero so even a cold could be disastrous'. "We’re just hoping to find that match,” explained Mr Iqbal.
The family are particularly urging members of the Pakistani and South Asian community to come forward as those with the same ethnicity are much more likely to be a match. This Thursday (July 7) Elaiya’s family has set up their own drop in clinic that will be in the building adjacent to the carpark behind Chaiiwala on Stapleton Road.
The procedure which Mr Iqbal said is similar to a Covid test should take no more than 10 minutes. The clinic is open from 3pm to 7pm to all those aged between 16 and 30. Those from ethnic minority backgrounds are encouraged to attend due to the current donor shortage, which has resulted in an increase in patients like Elaiya who are desperately waiting for a life-saving match.
For people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds (BAME), the chances of finding a life-saving match is much less likely than white Caucasians. According to Anthony Nolan , a leading blood cancer charity, those from ethnic minority backgrounds have less than 40 percent chance of finding a suitable match.
Despite a rise in bone marrow donations in recent years, as of February 2020 there were 1,909 patients from BAME communities actively waiting for an organ transplant; the highest number in 5 years according to an NHS report .
The local campaign has received a public endorsement by former British boxer, Amir Khan and has generated a rise in online donations through their social media campaign. Ultimately, the family desperately needs a match to save baby Elaiya’s life but also hope their campaign will help find matches for others in desperate need for bone marrow transplants.
The former professional boxing champion, Amir Khan urged people to share his video and pray for Elaiya. "If there is anyway we can help, please let us know," he added.
Elaiya’s grandfather Mazhar Iqbal said that their campaign has already helped find a match for another patient. He is urging people to attend the temporary clinic this Thursday and get a simple swab that could be life-saving.
Mr Iqbal said: “We organised a swab taking clinic ourselves. The online link is working but not as fast as we would like. We're just trying to attract the youngsters in general because there’s not enough people on there. It’s not just for my granddaughter but there’s so many children and adults waiting for a match to come along.
“There’s just not enough people on the donor’s list from our cultural background so we thought let's do something that might help Elaiya and if not there will be other people in the future who our campaign might be able to help. Already from the first swabs that have come up from our campaign, we’ve found a match for somebody else.
“There’s so many patients around the country that need stem cell donations.”
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