Healing powers of Facebook

FACEBOOK is usually good for nothing but a catch-up with old friends and pretending you have loads of new ones. Yesterday, however, it may just have saved a young child’s life.

Little 22-month old Iona Stratton was fighting what looked like a losing battle with leukemia, as due to her ethnic background of half Chinese, half English the family has been struggling to find a suitable donor.

Thanks to an appeal made by Iona’s parents on the social networking site, a suitable bone marrow donor has been found all the way Down Under.

More than 5,500 people signed up from around the world until the match was found in Australia, which highlights just how difficult it is to find suitable donors.

Iona has been saved just in the nick of time as she needed a transplant within weeks – the little-un was diagnosed with infant acute lymphoblastic leukaemia shortly after birth.

Iona’s Mum, Anita from Tring in Hertfordshire, said, "I couldn't believe they had found a match. We are so grateful."

A spokeswoman for the Anthony Nolan Trust, which finds donors for leukemia patients, explained yesterday, "We need more people from all ethnic backgrounds to come forward and help people like Iona have the gift of life."

Iona is currently receiving chemotherapy treatment until the donor marrow arrives from Australia. µ

L'Inq
Mirror