President urges Pakistanis to join search for rare blood for two-year-old cancer patient

President Dr Arif Alvi on Sunday night urged local people and blood banks to "join this search" for donors of a rare blood type for a Pakistani-origin toddler suffering from cancer.

In his tweet, Dr Alvi said: "This cute little girl Zainab in Florida is of Pakistani origin & needs blood donations to help fight her cancer (neuroblastoma). Her blood is very rare.

"An international search is on to find donors. Only 4 people have been found as yet. Pak blood banks/people plz join this search," he added.

According to international news reports, Zainab Mughal, who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma — a type of cancer — two months ago, requires a very rare type of blood that only people "only people of Pakistani, Indian or Iranian descent" can donate, according to Evening Standard.

The toddler "desperately needs blood from seven to ten donors", the publication added, saying only four have been found to date.

The four donors to date are from the United States and the United Kingdom.

“In the past month, OneBlood has received more than 22,000 emails from people who potentially meet the specific donor criteria needed to be a match for Zainab," OneBlood, an American organisation aiding the search for donors, said in a statement quoted by the publication.

On the other hand, the toddler's father, Raheel Mughal, mentioned that everyone was "crying".

"This was like the worst thing we were expecting. We will definitely need more blood. If you are one of those people from the Middle East, please go out and donate the blood for my daughter," he said.