A second swabbing clinic to help find a donor match for a young Manotick girl will be held next week, and it promises to be a bigger event than last time.
The McKibbin family is looking for a genetic match to find a bone marrow donor for 6-year-old Hillary, who has aplastic anemia, a rare and deadly blood disorder. The disease causes the body to stop producing new blood cells in bone marrow, according to the Mayo Clinic. A bone marrow transplant is one of the treatments.
A clinic held Monday at St. Francis Xavier High School was so successful, the family had to turn people away. Kelly McKibbin, Hillary’s mom, says they had 700 swabbing kits and they ran out in about two hours. She says people came from Kingston and Montreal to get swabbed. About 500 people were turned away, McKibbin says.
The next clinic is scheduled for July 4, from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the same location. This time, there will be 1200 swabbing kits and more staff on hand to help.
Anyone age 17 to 35 is eligible to provide a swab, but there is a strong demand for men, who have a greater chance of providing a match for Hillary.
The family says, however, it’s not just about their little girl. Anyone can get swabbed and they could be a match for other people who are in similar situations.
If you can’t make it to the clinic, you can also request a free swabbing kit from Canadian Blood Services.
