Toddler with rare blood disorder continues to fight while waiting for donor match

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - A Magnolia family whose daughter was diagnosed with a rare blood disease is hoping to reach a potential donor by raising awareness of her condition.

It was October 23, 2018 when Jeff and Erica Williams had their world turned upside down. One of their twin daughters, Addyson, was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia, a rare bone marrow disorder. The road to her recovery has posed many obstacles. In less than a year, she has received over 200 blood transfusions, two bone marrow transplants, but has zero matches in the donor registry. Her parents are hoping that sharing her story will yield a perfect match.

“Right now on the national be the match registry, out of I think 20 million people that are registered, she doesn’t have a perfect match," said Jeff Williams, Addyson's father.

With no matches available, the family is turning to a third transplant option, that has never been done before, harvesting stem cells from her father. Having three procedures is extremely rare in Addyson’s case because most 3-year-olds are not strong enough to handle it.

“Addyson being able to go through a third transplant is a huge, huge gift to us. It gives God more room to do a miracle in her life," says Erica Williams, Addyson’s mother.

The Williams family relies on their faith during these tough times. Addyson and her father, Jeff will undergo the transplant next week, and will have to wait about a month to see if it works. They hope that in the meantime people will be inspired to take the time to see if they could be a match for Addyson, or anyone else out there whose life depends on it.

“As hard as it would be to never find a match for a daughter, and this third procedure with me doesn’t work, if all of that means if we save one person‘s life through this interview and through our story, then as parents, it’s worth it for us," says her father Jeff.

Becoming a bone marrow donor is as simple as sending in a cheek swab sample. Check out the “Be The Match” national marrow donor program, and sign up.