Rare blood disorder

A blood drive to benefit a seriously ill 9-year-old girl will be 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Assembly of God, 701 W. Monroe.

Julia Courange is the daughter of Purcell High School graduates Jeremy and Tiffany Courange.

The family now lives at Norman.

Julia suffers from a rare blood disorder which can develop into leukemia, according to her grandmother, Martha Couragne.

The youngster has been a patient at Children’s Hospital since May with the exception of three days in July when she was briefly discharged.

Over several months she has received countless blood transfusions and is now in need of a bone marrow transplant.

Courange asked anyone donating blood Saurday to inform the Oklahoma Blood Institute staffers at the church that they are donating it for Julia Courange. That way the donation can be credited to her account.

Information will also be available there about testing to donate bone marrow.

Courange said her granddaughter already has a donor match but isn’t strong enough to undergo the transplant.

“She is very susceptible to any infection,” Courange said.

Blood donors will receive their choice of an OU or OSU t-shirt.