Anya LeFrancis hasn't found a perfect match with any of 28 million registered donors and is in need of a bone marrow transplant
CHESTER -- A nine-year-old Chester girl whose leukemia has relapsed is in need of a bone marrow transplant and looking for donors.
Anya LeFrancisAnya LeFrancis needs a bone marrow transplant by May/early June 2017 to survive, according to family friend Maria Billis.
Billis, who is volunteering with the bone marrow non-profit group, DKMS, said the search to find a match for Anya was made even more challenging due to her heritage -- part Caucasian and part South Asian/Indian.
"Although anyone can be a match, it's most likely that someone who shares Anya's heritage will be a full match," Billis said.
According to Billis, minorities and mixed heritage donors make up only 4 percent of registered donors.
"Out of about 28 million registered donors, not one full match has been found for Anya to date," she said.
Two bone marrow registration drives were held this past weekend in Plainboro and Bloomfield, but those interested in seeing if they're a match can also register online with DKMS.
Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.