When a 2-year-old girl was diagnosed with cancer, strangers around the world donated their blood to save her life.
Zainab Mughal was a normal, loving, 2-year-old girl, who was full of energy. In her family, she was the princess, the youngest of three kids. However, when she reached about 20-months-old, her parents noticed subtle changes in her demeanor that didn’t add up. She had less of an appetite and didn’t want to play with other children as she usually loved to do. Eventually they took her to the doctor where she had some tests done that revealed some heartbreaking news: Zainab had cancer. She was suffering from neuroblastoma, a cancer common in children, according to Today.
Her family was devastated by the news, but were determined to help their daughter in any way they could to save her life. Zainab would be fighting an uphill battle with cancer at such an early age. To make things worse, doctors soon realized the 2-year-old has a rare blood mutation in which she is missing an antigen. Her blood type, Indian B, is very rare which makes providing Zainab with life saving blood mutations all the more difficult.
“Not only are you dealing with cancer but blood issue,” her father said. “It was just unbelievable.”
If Zainab receives any other type of blood besides Indian B, she will get gravely sick. Thus, it was important to find blood donors with the same mutation as fast as possible. Luckily, her parents succeeded in raising global awareness about their daughter’s illness. Many around the world were touched by the story and got tested to see whether or not their blood type might be a possible match for the mutation. Before long, two matching donors were found in the United States, as well as one in the United Kingdom. Thanks to their generosity, this little girl will be able to receive the life saving treatments she so desperately needs.
At this time, doctors would like to secure at least 10 more donor matches to ensure that Zainab will have enough of a supply to last her throughout the duration of her treatments. Those wishing to help are encouraged to contact One Blood, an organization that helps find blood type matches.
Zainab’s parents are overwhelmed and grateful for the immense support they’ve received.
“I just want to say, thank you,” her mother said. “Nobody can feel our pain.” Her father offered the same sentiment talking about how his daughter is already showing improvement.
“She’s playing. She’s talking and all that and that’s when it felt like, okay, she’s getting better. She means everything to us and she is the princess of the family. Everybody loves her.”
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