Three-year-old Praise is a bubbly, chatty child; she loves books and reading stories, observing people and learning about life around her. Praise is very creative and likes to draw pictures, make and build things.
Sadly, not long after her birth she was diagnosed with an inherited auto immune condition called Chronic Granulomatous Disorder (CGD), that occurs when the white blood cells (which usually helps the body fight infections) are compromised. Having explored a number of treatment plans, a blood stem cell transplant is the best option in order to help Praise beat this. Sadly none of Praise’s family are a match and currently there is no match anywhere in the world. Praise and her family have not been without loss from the disease. Tragically, Praise’s elder sister, Valerie, passed away in April 2020, a couple of months shy of her ninth birthday.
The search for a donor is made even more challenging due to Praise’s ethnicity as she is Nigerian. Patients from Black, Asian or other minority backgrounds only have a 20% chance of finding the best possible stem cell donor match.
Praise’s family are encouraging everyone, but people particularly from similar backgrounds, to take the first step and register as a potential lifesaver . Not only could you help Praise, but other people across the world who are looking for their blood stem cell match too.