Crowds turn out to find bone marrow match for Black Country baby Phoebe
More than 100 selfless strangers came together to help find a match for a stem cell transplant for a youngster with leukaemia.
Residents descended on Brierley Hill Market Hall to be swabbed to see they were a bone marrow donor match to save little Phoebe Ashfield's life.
Phoebe, who is now 19 months old, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia when she was just seven and a half months old in January 2019.
The youngster, who lives in Gornal, relapsed in June and September last year, before undergoing CAR-T cell therapy at Great Ormond Street Hospital, which proved successful for a few months.
But last month the family received news that it was not successful and the only chance they had was a bone marrow transplant.
Parents Emma Wyke and Jordan Ashfield, both 27, are not full matches.
The event at Brierley Hill Market Hall on Saturday saw dozens of people turn out to be swabbed and also saw a raffle help to raise funds for Phoebe.
It was organised by Michelle O'Sell and Karen Westwood, who are behind the Musings of a Black Country Wench.
Mum Emma said: "Phoebe was diagnosed at seven and a half months old in January last year. This January, we were told the therapy she underwent at Great Ormond Street was unsuccessful and the only chance we had was finding a donor.
"We are waiting for a stranger to save our daughter's life. We are relying on a stranger to come forward and be a 100 per cent match.
"We [mum Emma and dad Jordan] are only half a match and the doctor's want a full match.
"Saturday's event went really well and we had over 100 people around lunchtime turn up to be swabbed to hopefully find a potential match for Phoebe."
An appeal posted online online by Emma in June last year appealing for a donor has been shared more than 2,000 times.
Michelle added: "Saturday's event was fantastic. Everyone really pulled together, and we organised it in a week.
"We had some bands performing and had over 200 swabs done by people being tested.
"We also raised around £600 which will pay for Phoebe and her parents to go away somewhere like CBeebies Land and have a nice day, make some memories.
"Phoebe was an absolute star throughout the day. She kept her nan on her toes all day."
For more information, visit anthonynolan.org or dkms.org.uk/en/register-now.
