Help Children with Cancer Access Treatment!

Little Khamit is 4.  He was born early, at 34 weeks, and was missing a thumb at birth. Despite this, he grew and developed normally.  When he was 2, Khamit got sick with a cold, but after he got better, his blood tests showed dangerously low blood counts.  In his native Kazakhstan, the local doctors diagnosed him with a genetic disorder and advised the family to wait for the blood counts to normalize. 

Khamit's family watched him closely for two years, but the blood counts never recovered.  With time, he became dependent on blood transfusions, which had to be done more and more frequently.  He developed nosebleeds, which lasted a long time and were hard to stop.  After several more fruitless attempts to get a diagnosis with the local doctors and the specialists in Russia, Khamit's family took him across the border to Turkey.  There Khamit was diagnosed with a rare and severe blood disorder - Fanconi Anemia.  It is genetic and involves all three blood cell lines, often leading to bone marrow failure and development of cancer. 

Although it was a relief for the family to get a proper diagnosis, it was disheartening to learn that there is no cure for this disease.  The only way to save our Khamit's life was for him to undergo bone marrow transplantation. Fortunately, his sister was acceptable as a donor and Khamit was able to undergo the procedure.  It did come at a cost, and while the Turkish clinic started treatment ahead of the payment in full, the family still owes it close to $50,000.  Khamit's family sold everything they could - including their farm animals and equipment - and are working tirelessly to pay off their debt.  Your support of our project allowed us to alleviate some of that financial burden.  Thank you so much for supporting our project and families of children with cancer!  Khamit's family expressed their deep gratitude and sent their best wishes.  We hope you will consider our project again and give hope to more kids like Khamit!