In the United Kingdom, a young girl is in remission from cancer thanks to her sister’s bone marrow donation.
Ruby Leaning, 10, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia after collapsing in the school playground in January 2020, according to SWNS, the British news service.
This rare blood cancer required an urgent bone marrow transplant to keep the 6-year-old alive.
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After several tests, Leaning’s then 2-year-old sister, Mabel Leaning, was found to be a “perfect match.”
The Leaning sisters’ grandmother, Amanda Fawcett, confirmed to SWNS that Ruby Leaning had received treatment with Mabel Leaning’s stem cells.
Sisters Mabel Leaning, left, and Ruby Leaning hold hands at the hospital. The younger sister saved the older one with a bone marrow transplant. (Amanda Fawcett via SWNS)
Ruby Leaning was declared cancer-free in 2022, meaning Mabel Leaning “certainly saved Ruby’s life,” Fawcett said.
“She is a happy, normal, healthy 10-year-old who loves swimming, dancing and piano lessons.”
“We [weren’t] I expected her to be up to it at first, but luckily she was, so we couldn’t believe our luck,” she said.
“It was amazing – we were very grateful.”
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Fawcett remembers the moment her granddaughter was diagnosed with cancer at Sheffield Children’s Hospital.
“It’s every parent and grandparent’s nightmare,” she told SWNS.
Ruby Leaning, pictured in hospital, was diagnosed with acute leukemia in 2020. (Amanda Fawcett via SWNS)
“I was in the room with his mother when we found out, and you can’t understand it at all. It was just overwhelming.”
Fawcett described her granddaughters as “so close,” telling SWNS they are “amazing girls.”
“They have a great relationship with each other,” she said.
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“But Mabel will ask to borrow Ruby’s shoes when she realizes [she saved her life] – and we laugh about how fun and playful it will be. “
Fawcett said Ruby Leaning is “doing wonderfully” in remission and is “back to her normal self.”
Ruby and Mabel Leaning have “a great relationship with each other,” her grandmother Amanda Fawcett said. (Amanda Fawcett via SWNS)
“She is a happy, normal, healthy 10-year-old who loves swimming, dancing and piano lessons,” she said.
The grandmother is currently raising money for the Association of Parents of Children with Tumors and Leukemia (PACT), which has supported the Leaning family, according to SWNS.
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“None of us could be there for Ruby, which was horrible for us, because of the pandemic,” Fawcett explained.
“But they’ve been incredibly supportive.”
Fox News Digital has contacted Sheffield Children’s Hospital for additional comment.
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