ORLANDO, Fla. – An urgent search is underway for rare blood donors who could help save 18-year-old Gigi Felix, an Orlando-area teen fighting a severe and aggressive form of sickle cell disease.
Physicians say Gigi needs 50 units of highly specific, specially matched blood before they can safely proceed with a bone marrow transplant, a procedure considered her best hope for a cure.
“I’m just asking for your help, because I really do need it,” Gigi said.
Doctors say the difficulty goes beyond locating O-negative blood. Donors must also match Gigi’s antigen profile, the inherited markers found on the surface of red blood cells.
After years of repeated transfusions, Gigi’s immune system has developed antibodies that reject much of the available donor blood, making compatible units exceptionally hard to find.
The antigen combination she needs is most often found among donors of African ancestry.
Even within that group, doctors estimate that only about 1 in 1,000 people of African descent may be a suitable match.
“We need the African American and Afro-Caribbean community to step up to help save Gigi’s life,” said Dr. David Crawford, a pediatric hematologist/oncologist.
OneBlood’s reference laboratory is screening donations 24/7 to identify compatible units and reserve them specifically for Gigi. Some matching units have already been found—but doctors say they still need many more to reach 50.
Without enough compatible blood on hand, doctors say the transplant is too risky to perform.
OneBlood’s reference laboratory is screening donations 24/7 to identify compatible units and reserve them specifically for Gigi. Some matching units have already been found—but doctors say they still need many more to reach 50.
Without enough compatible blood on hand, doctors say the transplant is too risky to perform.
“To me it just seems like my last golden ticket,” Gigi said.
Doctors and OneBlood urge people of African descent to donate as soon as possible—even if they don’t know their blood type.
To be a match for Gigi, donors must:
Be African American or of African descent
Be O-negative (only about 7% of the population is O-negative)
Click HERE to find the nearest OneBlood location to you.
