NEWSWEEK Article – By Aristos Georgiou On 11/3/21 at 8:31 AM EDT – Link to article
A woman suffering from a rare blood condition is on a quest to find her estranged biological father, who may enable her to get a potentially life-saving transplant if he donates his bone marrow.
Sarah Langdale, 32, who lives in the U.K. town of Rugby, was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia when she was two.
This disease occurs when the body stops producing enough new blood cells. Patients with the condition are often fatigued and more prone to infections, as well as uncontrolled bleeding.
Aplastic anemia can develop at any age and can be short-lived or chronic. The condition can be mild or severe, and fatal in some cases. Treatments range from medications to blood transfusions and bone marrow transplants.
Langdale told local news outlet the Northampton Chronicle and Echo last year that her condition used to be manageable but started became significantly worse over the past two years.
At the age of 25, she was also diagnosed with vulvar cancer, which is currently also receiving treatment for.
“I’m having blood transfusions every three weeks and platelets every three weeks. I eventually started to lose my color and energy and I can’t do anything,” she told the Echo. “Yes I have arms and legs, I can function, but when it gets to that point I feel sluggish.”
