Spokane teen waiting and hoping for bone marrow donor
SPOKANE, Wash. — She’d rather be rolling skating or hiking in the Spokane Valley but in order to live, Grace Ndayizeye, has to spend hours each month swapping out eight units of blood.
“It’s really hard sometimes. I do wake up sometimes, I’m like, this sucks,” said Grace.
Grace was born with sickle cell anemia. Her body doesn’t produce the right type of red blood cells. There is a cure and that cure sits in the body of a willing and able bone marrow donor. The hard part now, finding that person.
To pass the three hours she spends getting a blood transfusion, 19-year-old Grace does homework, reads comic books and chats with staff. She was born with sickle cell anemia and started medication at age 11. When that stopped working, she started the red blood cell exchange. Making the trip to the hospital is not always easy for her but she says it won’t hold her back from living life.
“I think it’s impacted my life by giving me more of a perspective on what life is like and not taking anything for granted. I like to enjoy all the little things and I feel like when I come out of the hospital, I don’t want to take any opportunity too lightly,” said Grace.
About one in 430 members of Be the Match Registry go on to donate. Which is why it need as many people as possible to register. You can find more info on how to register by clicking here, Be the Match.
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