Renewed Hope for Baby Ava

It’s not often that someone can say they saved somebody’s life, but that is exactly what an anonymous marrow donor did for Baby Ava!

At the age of 3 months, Baby Ava was diagnosed with HLH, a rare and life-threatening disease.  After an unsuccessful cord blood transplant, the recommendation for treatment was for a bone marrow transplant.

Racial and ethnic heritage are very import factors in finding a genetic match and as an African American patient, with no compatible donor on the Be The Match Registry, the odds were stacked against Ava.

Only 7% of registered marrow donors are African Americans, making the probability of finding a compatible donor very slim.

Committed to saving baby Ava, The Icla da Silva Foundation rallied in support of Ava and other patients like her by organizing countless marrow drives in diverse communities. Ava finally found a compatible donor and this past winter she received the life-saving treatment she desperately needed.

Today, because of her marrow donor, Ava is a beautiful and healthy 15-month old!

UPDATE: Unfortunately, due to complications, baby Ava passed away at the age of 18 months. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to her family.