Transplant Expenses for Sarah

UPDATE:  Sarah has had her transplant and is responding well to her new cells.  Due to her progress, the doctors are working on a plan to discharge her from the hospital.  However, Sarah and her grandmother must stay locally and continue to visit the hospital almost daily for a  multitude of doctors' appointments and therapy treatments.  Sarah and her family are thrilled to be leaving the hospital ahead of schedule.  Unfortunately, this will dramatically increase their out of pocket expenses, especially those related to housing costs.  As a result, we have increased our donation goal and we hope you can help.  If you have not donated, we hope you will consider helping Sarah in her time of need.  We appreciate your support and prayers for her continued success in her recovery.


Sarah is a survivor, but she is also so much more.  She is intelligent, kind, clever, and creative. 

Sarah is currently a sophomore in college studying Human Resources Management.  She has spent her entire life battling Fanconi anemia, an extremely rare inherited genetic disorder, causing Sarah’s severe bone marrow failure.  Her childhood has included hospital stays, biopsies, doctor appointments, medications, and more tests than you can imagine.  From the time of her diagnosis, the possibility of needing a bone marrow transplant has loomed over her head.   One of the three leading Fanconi anemia centers in the country is not local but within driving distance. Her team of specialists and doctors are at a hospital located 4 hours away.  Sarah can wait no longer.  The time has come for her to receive her life-saving transplant, and she needs your help.  Your donation will support Sarah’s expenses during her hospitalization and recovery period.

Sarah has been fighting her disease since she was diagnosed at 6 years old, when her hardships and challenges began.  Her mother was her caregiver and a single parent, and they struggled financially. When Sarah was 11 years old, she lost her mother suddenly to heart failure. Her father has been absent all of her life, and wanted no contact with her. Since her mother’s passing, Sarah has been living with her grandparents, who are on a fixed income. She has no brothers or sisters or other grandparents to help her get through this. Her grandmother is her caregiver and will accompany her to the hospital. 

Donations will support costs associated with this last resort, life-saving bone marrow transplant such as:
-Medicine and treatment costs not covered through Medicaid.
-Sarah's transplant will take place four hours away, where they will need to relocate for 4-6 months. 
-After spending 4-6 months in the hospital, Sarah will need to remain close for a designated amount of time  in order to return daily for follow-up blood work and evaluations. It would be deadly if she does not have a sterile environment outside of the hospital during that time since she will not have a functioning immune system. Part of these donations would cover rent for temporary housing.

Even though Sarah has faced many challenges; the loss of her mother, an absent father, financial struggles, medical expenses, annual bone marrow biopsies to look for signs of leukemia,  frequent blood draws , numerous hospital visits, specialist appointments,  and medical procedures, she remains strong and positive. She is one of the most optimistic people in her family and prays to have a successful transplant.  Her goal is to complete college and dreams of one day living without Fanconi anemia.