An urgent appeal to the Black community

Yvette Gate has a life-threatening illness called aplastic anaemia, or bone marrow failure.  She was the inspiration for this Campaign that was originally started by her parents in the summer of 2005.  Yvette lives with her family in Bristol, England.

In August this year Yvette will be thirteen years old, a teenager.  But since she became ill in March of 2004 she has not been to school and she is unable to go out like other kids of her age.  Every week she has to go to hospital for transfusions of platelets and monthly for red blood.  The risk of infection is a great danger to her.  Yet in the face of great difficulties she shows great courage.

All medical attempts to treat Yvette's condition have been unsuccessful.  Her only hope of recovery now is to find a suitable matching bone marrow donor.  But there are not enough black potential donors on the Bone Marrow Register.

But more black and mixed race donors are urgently needed.  Can you help?  If you are between 18 and 40 years old and in good health?  Then please join the Bone Marrow Register.  You could be someone's lifesaver.  So please do something special - before it's too late. 

Yvette's mum flies to The Gambia

On Friday November 17 Yvette's mum Mary flew to The Gambia in West Africa.  She went to oversee the process of collecting blood samples from members of Yvette's extended family.  These samples were then returned to Bristol for tissue typing to see if any may be a potential bone marrow donor for her.  Unfortunately none turned out to be a match for Yvette.  So now her life depends upon a stranger.

Mary's flight has been sponsored by The Gambia Experience the number one UK tour operator to The Gambia.

This Campaign was originally started as a response to Yvette's illness, before developing into a more general Bone Marrow Campaign. 

If you would like to find out more about Yvette please click here.

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