Mum: Could you help save my Emma’s life?

Emma Whittaker, 4, with her brother James, 3. Both children suffer from the rare disease Fanconi Anaemia.

Published on 13/02/2013 09:16

A mother has issued a desperate plea for people to register as bone marrow donors in a fight against the clock to find a match for her sick little girl.

She is urgently seeking a donor for her four-year-old daughter Emma, whose blood platelet levels are dropping.

The family discovered in November that Emma’s brother James, aged three, also has the potentially fatal condition, when tests were carried out to see if he could be a donor for his sister.

A donor for James has already been found but although Emma is currently at a much higher risk, a match has not been found for her.

Rachel, of Pitstone, said: “When I found out my children had this condition I was heartbroken and completely devastated all in one go. It has been a rollercoaster over the last few months, and Christmas was especially hard.

“I feel so helpless, so I am trying to get more people on the donor list. The chance of finding a donor for Emma is low, but we might be able to find matches for others, too.”

The determined mother is taking part in Just Walk in May, in aid of Fanconi Hope. The charity’s family co-ordinator Jeannie Dalgleish liaises with soap Emmerdale about Fanconi, which character Sarah Dingle suffers from.

Jeannie, whose daughter is also a sufferer, said: “Unfortunately there are children who don’t make it because there is no donor for them. If it was your child you would want someone out there to come forward and help.”

Rachel is considering the ‘saviour sibling’ IVF route, but the chances of saving Emma this way are slim.

For more about the family or to sponsor Rachel visit justgiving.com/rachel-emberton1 or Emma And James Need You on Facebook.

To join the Anthony Nolan bone marrow register, click here.

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Mum: Could you help save my Emma’s life?

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