TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida teenager received a life-saving bone marrow transplant after doctors were able to secure 50 units of very rare blood.
18-year-old Gigi Felix is one step closer to being cured of sickle cell disease, an inherited blood disorder.
WATCH: Florida teen receives life-saving bone marrow transplant after securing blood donors
She received a bone marrow transplant on Oct. 19 and her brother was her bone marrow donor.
“She's not out of the woods yet, but everything has gone outstandingly well so far,” said Dr. David Crawford, director of Pediatric Stem Cell Transplantation at UHealth Jackson Children’s Care.
Tampa Bay 28 first introduced you to the South Florida teenager in July.
Doctors needed to secure 50 units of very rare blood before moving forward with her bone marrow transplant.
In Gigi’s case, the only people likely to be a compatible blood match were African Americans and people of African descent, due to the rare antigens she has, and their prevalence among those of African descent. Of these individuals, only 1 in 1,000 would be a potential match.
Gigi received numerous blood transfusions throughout her life, which caused her to develop antibodies to red blood cells. As a result, she required genetically similar blood; otherwise, her body would reject the blood.
OneBlood put out the call for blood donors in July and was successful.
Pat Michaels with OneBlood said her story highlights the importance of having a diverse blood supply.
Michaels said so many people stepped up to donate blood.
"We had to look far and wide to find people to match her so if we had more people from diverse backgrounds, the ethnicity is extremely important to match patients in hospitals like Gigi so if we have a larger donor pool, then we can make those matches. Initially, we didn't have it," said Pat Michaels, Director of Media and Public Relations for OneBlood.
The transplant is a major milestone for Gigi, but the need for blood continues.
“If I don’t have blood available for patients, I can’t do what I do. It’s simply impossible to do stem cell transplantation and we can’t cure these children unless we have an abundant supply of blood. I would encourage everyone to donate blood so you can help other people,” said Dr. Crawford.
To locate the nearest OneBlood donation center, click here.
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