The family of a Calgary girl suffering from a pair of rare blood disorders is in their hometown of Winnipeg this weekend looking for a match that could save her life.
Roshlind Mance, 16, was diagnosed with the diseases earlier this summer and doctors have said that the only way to help her is through a stem cell transplant.
The problem is that she is Filipino and that means there will be some difficulty in finding a match.
Roshlind’s sisters have both been tested and aren’t able to help her, so the family has turned to the Filipino community in their search for a proper donor.
The odds are slim because the Canadian Blood Services say that less than one percent of donors are Filipino.
Last weekend, the family was in Edmonton and now they are in Winnipeg and say that their search will benefit not only Roshlind, but many other members of their community as well.
“It’s for the benefit of the whole Filipino community because although it’s not affecting them today, it may affect them in the future like it could be someone’s daughter or granddaughter in the near future. We want to widen the stem cell pool as much as possible so that another family never has to go through this again,” said Adrienne San Juan, Roshlind’s sister.
The Mance family is originally from Winnipeg, but now live in Calgary.
(With files from CTV Edmonton)
