The Children's Hospital of Wisconsin expects to receive bone marrow from China in two to four weeks in hope of helping an 8-year-old girl with a potentially deadly disease.
Kailee Wells was first diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a failure of the bone marrow, nearly four years ago. She and her parents learned a perfectly matched bone marrow donor, a young man, has been found in her native land in China.
"It is exciting cooperation," said David A. Margolis, a physician at Children's Hospital who is coordinating Kailee's treatment. "It is humanity coming together to help a child."
Linda and Owen Wells adopted Kailee from China after her birth mother left her at an orphanage in Hunan Province. The family had planned to return to China to find a donor.
"There's nothing more important than this sweet girl," Owen Wells said. "Now we have everything we need: a perfect match for non-related bone marrow donor ... In Kailee's words, 'I will be rid of my stupid aplastic anemia."'
Kailee's illness wasn't discovered until she developed a 105-degree fever the night of her fifth birthday when the family lived in Albuquerque, N.M.
Aplastic anemia remains uncommon -- about 1,000 new cases are discovered each year. While many are cured, Kailee has a severe form of the disease and needs a bone marrow transplant.
Her symptoms have worsened recently.
"She gets paler. She runs out of steam," Owen Wells said.
Her inability to produce healthy blood has left her unable to fight off infections.
Doctors have been giving her transfusions of platelets, but the transfusions are need much more often than before -- every seven to 10 days compared to once every month or two.
In January, Kailee went through a bone marrow transplant that failed, but this time, the donor is a perfect match, doctors say.
Kailee will remain in the hospital four to six weeks following the five-hour procedure.
If successful, the transplant will mean she can have a typical childhood, Owen Wells said.
"She won't get tired and worn out," he said. "She'll be able to live a long and normal life."
(China Daily/Agencies September 19, 2005)
