Help Raise Funds for Maira

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HOUSTON: Maira Junaid turned 9 years old this November … but she has been sick since birth. This little girl has spent more time in hospitals than in school.  The doctors say she has a few months to live, unless she gets a double lung replacement. Maira needs to $650,000 for the transplant surgery.

Maira was born in Karachi with a chronic, inherited disease called Cystic Fibrosis (CF), This is not common amongst Asians so treatment options are limited abroad. When she turned 2 years old, the situation somewhat stabilized. Her parents learned to manage her condition at home, unaware of the gravity of her ailment. They continued with regular medications and a nasal pump to clear her clogged nose.

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In August 2014, her health went downhill. She was admitted to the hospital and X-rays showed that one lung had completely collapsed and the other lung showing signs of distress too. Maira’s parents researched to understand CF. They looked for treatment options available outside of Pakistan. Most hospitals quoted $500,000 for an initial evaluation.

Texas Children’s Hospital gave them a quote of $106,000 and agreed to send them a letter of invite for treatment, based on which they could apply for a visa. With the help of family and friends, they were able to raise the money and are now at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, TX.

As a international patient, the family needs to raise $650,000 (initially this amount was $1.5 million) for Maira to be a candidate for a lung transplant. Maira’s father, Junaid has meet with the department heads of Transplant at Texas Children’s Hospital and with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF). He has actively reached out to various media outlets, non-government organizations (NGOs), Muslim and Pakistani Associations in Texas as well as other states in the US.

The National Foundation for Transplant (NFT) has set up a separate campaign page for Maira on their website to channel fund collection. Maira needs generous donors to raise the hefty amount of $650k for the actual transplant surgery. The community of Houston has been more than helpful, doing every bit they can through bake sales, community gatherings, social media campaigns, and much more. The donations are coming but Maira needs much more and time is running out.

Please help raise funds for Maira.

For more details on Maira’s journey and updates on her health status, please follow the facebook page http://www.facebook.com/breathehope4maira

Their Fundraising web page links are as below:
http://www.breathehope4maira.com
http://patients.transplants.org/mairajunaid