I NEED YOUR HELP
My name is Anna 'Butterfly Princess' Culshaw and I am 7 years old.
I haven't been well recently, and my Mum and Dad have been taking me to Alder Hay Hospital in Liverpool every week so the doctors and nurses can help me get better. They give me platelets to help my blood clot because mine doesn't do that anymore and they give me whole blood to stop me feeling tired and out of breath.
I have a form of cancer which is very rare for someone my age. The medical term for my cancer is Mylodysplastic and Genetic Monosomy 7. This affects my bone marrow and means my blood doesn't work properly. The only thing that will make me better is to have a bone marrow transplant from someone who's bone marrow will be the same as mine.
If you would like to try and help me get better you can help in different ways.
If you are a blood donor please ask one of the nice nurses at your next blood donation session if you can join their bone marrow register. For your nearest session log onto:
www.blood.co.uk
www.welsh-blood.org.uk
If you ’re not a blood donor you can help me by contacting the Anthony Nolan Trust so you can go on their register, their telephone number is 020 7284 1234 or the hotline number 0901 8822 234 or visit their website on www.anthonynolan.org.uk
New donors must be aged between 18-40yrs, Be in good general health and importantly be willing to donate to any patient that they may match. Donors cannot be tested for one patient, so please help anyone in need.
If you can ’t do any of these you can still help by telling other people about the need for donors and how they can go on the register to help me and other cancer patients.
Thank you,
Anna 'Butterfly Princess' Culshaw
---- UPDATED NEWS ----
Thanks to everyone's fantastic support, more people have put their names on the bone marrow register,and I have now found a bone marrow donor match. I am in hospital receiving chemotherapy treatment to prepare me for my transplant. My donor, who is a 39 year old man, is giving his stem cells, to help me get better, and I am going to receive my transplant at the end of June.
If you would like to send me a get well message, while I am in hospital, you
can click on the link Send Anna a Message.