|
 Urgent
donor appeal for Tyler
A Birmingham teenager who needs a bone marrow transplant in four weeks
time has appealed for more people of Afro-Caribbean origin to be donors.
Tyler Powell, 14, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia last
October and has already had four treatments of chemotherapy.
The disease has returned and her only option is to find a suitable
donor.
She said there are very few people from the Afro-Caribbean community
currently registered as potential donors.
Tyler, who is from Kings Norton, had undergone eight months of
chemotherapy when the news came through that the last block of treatment
had not worked.
'Heartbreaking' news
Her mother Yvette had hoped she was beating the disease and had been
planning a Remission Ball where Tyler would wear a pink ball gown to
celebrate.
They decided to hold a photo shoot with Tyler wearing the dress instead.
Yvette Powell said: "It was heartbreaking the day the lady rang and told
me that the dress was ready for Tyler. I didn't know how to tell her
because by then we'd learned Tyler wasn't in remission."
Doctors have told Tyler she has as little as four weeks in which to find
a suitable donor.
She said: "There's not enough black people that donate bone marrow, so
there might not be a full match for me."
There is still the chance of a half match, although this brings with it
the increased chance of being rejected.
G
The above information is taken from the website of
BBC News on 8 June 2007.
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A teenager who
was told she only had four weeks to find a bone marrow donor to treat
her leukaemia has gone into remission although a donor could was not
found.