Doha: In response to the outpouring of community support in finding a blood stem cell donor match for Zara Al Shaikh, who has acute myeloid leukaemia, HMC’s Screening Center will now open 2pm to 8pm until Thursday, February 25. This was announced by HMC in a Facebook post.
Zara Al Shaikh, who has acute myeloid leukaemia, opened a Twitter account with her father Loua Al Shaikh to appeal for help. Her tweet has been shared more than 13,000 times.
Zara is currently undergoing chemotherapy in a Hampshire hospital. Doctors explained that due to mixed ethnicity, her mother is British and father is Arab, finding a donor is bit difficult.
While Zara is still without a match, Al Shaikh said he's hopeful because so many people have reached out to join the registry to see if they can help her.
It is harder for people with mixed-race backgrounds to find donors because they have rarer tissue types and there are relatively few people of ethnic minority backgrounds registered as donors.
This is partly because of a lack of awareness, BBC quoted Al Shaikh - who is also a doctor. There is also a myth that the procedure for donation is complicated, when in fact it is quite simple, he said.
As well as the Twitter account, there is a Facebook account called Saving Zara.
"Zara, she’s very popular but shy," Al Shaikh told ABC. "She loves what a 13-year-old loves. She shocked us when she wanted to dye her hair blue. She said, 'But Daddy, I’m only going to lose it and I love it.'"
Many twitter user were seen offering their help and getting registered.
The HNC Screening Center will be located in a Mobile Blood Donor Unit located next to the Blood Donor Center next to Hamad General Hospital.
The screening requires a simple blood test and some other basic health checks.
Those attending must bring one of the following: passport, Qatari ID/Residency Card/Health Care Card.
“We urge everyone 18 years and over to consider taking the time to be tested – regardless of blood type,” HMC said.
You can follow Zara on twitter @Match4Z and on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Match4Zara-1528756597454852/
The Peninsula
