Second call to join stem cell registry to help Ottawa girl

By OttawaMatters Staff

The overwhelming response to the call to help find a bone marrow donor for a young Ottawa girl has resulted in a second session for people to get swabbed to see if they're a match.

Hillary McKibbin, 5, was recently diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia, a rare and fatal blood disorder. She needs to find a perfect donor match for a bone marrow transplant to cure her disorder.

On Monday, about 700 people joined the national stem cell registry at a donor clinic run by Canadian Blood Services, held at St. Francis Xavier High School in Riverside South. However, hundreds more were turned away because the event ran out of the swabs needed to test potential donors to see if they're a match.

A second session has been scheduled for next Thursday, July 4, again at St. Francis Xavier High School. This session, organizers plan to have more than a thousand swabs available to ensure they can meet demand.

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