U.S. mom seeks Chinese marrow donor

0 CommentsPrint E-mail Shanghai Daily, July 8, 2010
Adjust font size:

An American woman has journeyed across the ocean to China on an urgent mission: Seeking bone marrow for a transplant that could save her adopted Chinese daughter's life.

 

Liu Zhiqiong,  adopted from Liuzhou Welfare House in 1995 and has been living since with Shirley and her husband in Virginia

The woman arrived in Nanning, capital city of southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, early Tuesday, where 15 years ago she and her husband adopted the Zhuang ethnic minority girl as a 14-month-old baby, Gxnews.com.cn reported yesterday.

The woman, identified as Shirley by the website, said the girl was born on February 25, 1994 and named Liu Zhiqiong. She was adopted from Liuzhou Welfare House in 1995 and has been living since with the American couple in Virginia.

The girl was first diagnosed with leukemia four years ago. The disease relapsed this April.

Last week, doctors in the United States said the girl had only five weeks to live unless she had a marrow transplant.

Shirley has journeyed across the ocean to China to seek bone marrow for a transplant that could save her adopted Chinese daughter's life.

Shirley said she had been looking for a match in the U.S. databank but failed. She then resorted to Guangxi, the girl's hometown.

Last month, she managed to find nine apparent matches in the China Bone Marrow Data Bank. Five people agreed to send blood samples to the U.S. for further tests.

However, Shirley flew to China to find more possible matches in case the five failed the final tests, according to Liu Danli, vice dean of the China Bone Marrow Data Bank's Guangxi management center.

Shirley will go to Liuzhou, where she believes there will be a better chance of finding matches for the girl, in her five-day visit.

After that, she will return the United States to care for the girl as well as another two adopted children.

Print E-mail Bookmark and Share

Go to Forum >>0 Comments

No comments.

Add your comments...

  • User Name Required
  • Your Comment
  • Racist, abusive and off-topic comments may be removed by the moderator.
Send your storiesGet more from China.org.cnMobileRSSNewsletter