Published Feb 26, 2020

The World Answered: A Little Girl with Cancer Gets Rare Blood Needed for Treatment Thanks to 5 Strangers

A global search turns up five matching blood donors and Zainab Mughal's neuroblastoma is now in remission.

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At the end of 2018, when then-3-year-old Zainab Mughal needed an extremely rare blood type to treat her neuroblastoma, a worldwide search for donors went viral. On Tuesday, it was announced that Zainab — who is now 4 — is in remission thanks to five openhearted strangers on three continents.

The best hope for Zainab, who lives in South Florida — and whose treatment included chemotherapy, surgery and two bone marrow transplants — had been a match among people of Pakistani, Indian or Iranian descent. Among that group, only 4% were likely candidates. That’s because Zainab’s blood lacks Indigan B, a common antigen found in most human red blood cells, according to OneBlood, a not-for-profit blood center serving parts of the southeastern U.S., which was at the helm of finding the blood for Zainab.

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The world responded to save her life, and we are thrilled to share with you that Zainab is in remission! Zainab has some of the rarest blood in the world. After OneBlood made her story public, more than 25,000 people from around the globe responded wanting to help her. Five matching donors were found and saved her life. See the reaction from her parents, doctor and the OneBlood team as we celebrate the news that Zainab is in remission! Learn more about Zainab here: https://givelife.io/7vdh #cancersurvivor #cancerwarrior #cancerfighter #cancerawareness #standuptocancer #platelets #wholeblood #chemotherapy #rareblood #rarebloodgroup #rarebloodtype #zainaboneblood #pediatriccancer #pediatriccancerwarrior #pediatriccancerawareness #pediatriccancersurvivor #remissionispossible
A post shared by OneBlood (@myoneblood) on Feb 25, 2020 at 9:29am PST

The agency, which partnered with the American Rare Donor Program (ARDP), put the call out on Facebook and, within hours, it says, the plea went viral, turning up 25,000 possible matches.

After testing more than 4,000 units of blood, Zainab had five donors: two the U.S., two in the U.K., and one in Australia. Each stepped up and donated blood throughout her cancer treatment.

Zainab received more than a dozen blood and platelet transfusions, the agency says. Without the donated blood, doctors said it would not have been possible for her to have endured the treatment plan.

Information About Childhood Neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma accounts for about seven to 10% of all pediatric cancers in the U.S., with about 800 new cases identified each year. It accounts for more than 50% of cancers diagnosed under the age of 1, according to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Neuroblastoma develops from nerve cells in the fetus, and often affects the small glands above the kidneys called adrenal glands, but can be found in other locations such as the abdomen, chest, neck or spine. The most common primary site is the abdomen. Some forms of this cancer will spontaneously disappear on their own, but for most children, treatment such as surgery and chemotherapy and/or radiation is required.

Children with what’s known as "low-risk disease," who are diagnosed under the age of one or who have only small, easily removable tumors, usually undergo a simple surgical procedure with careful follow-up.

For children with "Intermediate-risk disease" – meaning the tumor is larger and has not spread, or is a baby whose cancer has spread — treatment usually includes a combination of surgery and chemotherapy.

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

Constance Costas is a writer for SurvivorNet.

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