Save Gianna: Get cheeks swabbed for 3-year-old battling cancer
Bay area locals have a chance to save a little girl's life Tuesday.
If 500 people have their cheeks swabbed during a bone marrow registry drive in Bradenton, it could save Gianna Lesselroth, a 3-year-old girl with B-precursor infantile acute lymphoblastic leukemia- also known as B-ALL.
Gianna is currently fighting for her life at a Boston hospital, where she recently completed a new gene procedure for her illness.
In a Facebook post, her mother reported some good news after the challenging day.
Facebook: Prayers for Gianna
The doctor said Gianna's preliminary results for her BM biopsy looked good- which leads them to believe she's in remission.
They won't know for sure until sometime next week, but in the meantime, Gianna's family says their little girl will still need to undergo several weeks of chemo therapy, as well as a bone marrow operation for long-term survival.
Officers with the Bradenton Police Department got word of the family's story, and decided to do what they could to help.
They are holding a bone marrow registry today, Tuesday June 30, from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the police department lobby, located at 100 10th St. W.
They are asking for donors between the ages of 18 and 44 to come by and have the inside of their cheeks swabbed by volunteers from "Be The Match".
The samples will then be tested to see if there are any local donors who can help Gianna.
Online, "Be The Match" says their organization is operated by the National Marrow Donor Program, and has been managing the largest and most diverse marrow registry in the world for the past 25 years.
Volunteers say the swabbing process only takes a couple of minutes, and involves a few swipes of your cheek.
Those who cannot get to the drive Tuesday can still make a difference. Click here for more information.