Clock ticks for two-year-old in bone marrow race

A two-year-old girl with leukemia is desperately seeking a bone marrow donor to save her life.

Diagnosed in early February with acute myeloid leukemia type 7, Livia suffers from severe pain in her bones and requires a bone marrow transplant.

"Livia is so precious to us. She loves food, swimming, dancing and is brimming with toddler mischief that gives us so much joy," her mother said in a Facebook appeal for bone-marrow donations.

Her mother recalled that Livia had a persistent high fever in February and later complained of pain in her legs.

"Livia has started the first round of chemo late March, and she started losing her hair," her mother said, "She soon lost interest in her toys or even her favorite song."

More bad news struck the family on Friday, as their doctor advised that Livia will only survive if she undergoes a bone marrow transplant before June.

All family members of Livia are being checked as potential matches but the girl has no siblings that could offer a better chance. She is now waitlisted on the bone marrow public database in the UK where the family lives.

"Our family is appealing earnestly to everyone to give Livia the hope to survive. We truly understand that it is a tough appeal especially in this pandemic environment, but the clock is ticking," wrote her mother, who is from Hong Kong.

Her mother hopes people will register at any one of the local Red Cross blood donor centers. Since the database of Hong Kong Bone Marrow Donor Registry will be shared with the World Marrow Donor Association, it can help Livia when a match appears.

The mother also urged people in the UK and Germany to help search for donors.

Acute myeloid leukaemia is more prevalent in adults than children, accounting for fewer than 25 percent of all childhood leukemia cases, according to the American Cancer Society.

However, Livia has the rarer and more aggressive type 7, which predominantly appears in babies under the age of two.