A 12 month old girl needs a Bone Marrow transplant and most likely match would be a Belgian.  Miabelle Gillier's father has reached out to all Belgian organizations in the US in the hope that we can help him spread the word and ask our fellow Belgians in the United States to consider registering as a potential bone marrow donor.

Message from Olivier Gillier:

Dear friends and fellow Belgians,

I am writing to call for the help of the Belgian community in the US as well as all Belgians worldwide.  Our daughter, Miabelle Gillier, is a 12-months old American-Belgian.  She was diagnosed with a very rare and fatal condition called HLH/FLH. HLH stands for Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis and the illness consists of the malfunctioning of the hystiocyte, one of the primary immune cells to fight infections.  The disease is currently stabilized with chemotherapy, but has reached the central nervous system  . Her doctors, at Cincinnati Childrens' Hospital (the leading hospital in treating this disease) have agreed that they need to proceed fast to giving Miabelle a bone marrow (Stem Cell) transplant in order to survive her disorder.  Currently they have not found a proper match yet, and without new bone marrow she will most probably not survive for long once the chemo is terminated. Being that she is of Belgian dissent the odds are higher to find a donor within our community.
 
As a result, Vanessa and I are doing an online Marrow Drive in the US and Belgium through our blog (http://miabellegillier.blogspot.com/p/bone-marrow-drive.html) and I am asking you for help and consider taking the test to evaluate whether you would be a match.  Our webpage details the procedure and link to follow, as well as details for fellow Belgians to donate in Belgium in cooperation with UZ Brussels.  
 
It would only take you 5 minutes to register online for free. Then, you'd receive a package via fedex at home to take a cheek swap (again 5 minutes, no pain), return it and be done.  If you are a match, a nurse would call to follow up with you and explain the process in more details.  Registering does not mean you commit; that decision is made later if by good luck you are a match. Although many people are concerned that a bone marrow is onerous, today's technology has minimized considerably the tedious experience of bone marrow donation.  The retrieval of stem cells (bone marrow) is performed by a medical machine that takes blood and filters it for the required cells.  It does not need to be invasive, it can be as simple as a blood donation. It is only a few minutes that could save a life!

When you make your decision, please take a look at Miabelle's blog,http://miabellegillier.blogspot.com/ , and read more about her condition and fight through this. Even if you decide not to take the test, please let as many friends in the US and Belgium know about it. We are hoping thousands of people will feel the pain that we are going through and take the test. Miabelle is an amazing little girl who giggles like no other and we need to do everything in our power to help her through this tragedy. Our little Belgian needs your help to survive.

Thank you so much for your attention and help in advance.  Let me know if you have any questions by emailing me atolivier.gillier@gmail.com.
 
YOU ARE OUR LAST HOPE.

Desperate for your help,
Miabelle, Noelie, Vanessa and Olivier Gillier