Save 14yr old w/ Bone Marrow Cancer

“I don’t want to give up but I can do nothing.”
In September 2014, a 13 year old Chinese girl, Jia Xu, was diagnosed with MDS (Myelodysplastic Syndromes), after persistently high fevers and heavy bleeding during menstrual periods. MDS is a cancer in which blood forming cells in the bone marrow do not mature to become healthy blood cells. It can complicate into a fast-growing leukemia called acute myelogenous leukemia. Currently, a bone marrow transplant is the only cure for MDS.

A matched donor has recently been identified by the China Marrow Donor Program. Recently, Jia had experienced several circulatory shocks due to massive bleeding. Doctors suggested a bone marrow transplant as soon as possible. On March 7, 2015, Jia was transferred from the hospital in her rural home town to Shanghai Children’s Hospital where bone marrow transplants can be performed. The medical bill for transplant and post-transplant recovery cost were estimated at around US $80,000-US $90,000.

Facing the life threatening disease and an astronomical medical cost, Jia said, “I don’t want to give up but I can do nothing.”


Father wanted to sell his kidney to save his daughter
Jia was once a student at the charity organization I worked at in Shanghai last summer. She was born in a poor village in the province of Henan, China. Her father is a patient of hyperthyroidism and has been unemployed for several years. Her family of four lives off on her mother’s minimal earnings. Her family sold all they had and borrowed all they could to pay for Jia’s medical bills. Her father even contacted the black market to sell his kidney in order to raise money to save his daughter. When Jia found out, she threatened food strike in order to change her father’s mind.


Fund Raising Effort So far
A fund raising effort was initiated by Jiuqian (http://www.jiuqian.org/en/), the charity organization Jia was once a student of, in the week of March 2, 2015 in China. It raised about US $60,000. This would help cover the pre-transplant chemotherapy/radiation and transplant procedure cost. However, the post-transplant recovery process can last months, during which the family is advised to stay in Shanghai. An additional US $20,000 is needed to help the poor family pay for the post-transplant medical cost, rental of an apartment and living expense in Shanghai.

Please help give this girl a chance to live. All donations will be given directly to the family through Jiuqian.