Could you save this girl's life?

Rare blood cancer...Margot Martini's parents have launched a worldwide appeal to find a blood stem cell match that is the 16-month-old's best hope of beating the disease. Picture: YouTube Source: YouTube

THE desperate family of a 16-month-old girl suffering a rare form of blood cancer has launched a worldwide appeal to try to find a stem cell donor who can save her.

Yaser and Vicki Martini, from London, are calling on people around the world to take an at-home swab test that may help them find a perfect stem cell match for their daughter Margot.

Margot's form of leukaemia is so rare that her doctor has only seen it three times in the past decade. Her cancer is "dual lineage", meaning she has both acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and acute myeloid leukaemia.

Margot was diagnosed with cancer at 14 months, and is currently undergoing her third round of chemotherapy. She has spent the past 100 days receiving treatment at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital, reports Sky News UK.

A bone marrow transplant is her best chance of beating the disease, her parents say. For that, she needs a blood stem cell donation from someone who is a match for her tissue type.

Her desperate parents have launched a worldwide appeal for potential donors to come forward, in hopes of finding someone who can save their baby girl.

Family search...Yaser and Vicki Martini, with Margot and her brothers Oscar and Rufus. Picture: YouTube

"Her tissue type is not uncommon, so a match could literally come from anywhere," Mr Martini told Sky News UK.

"We're asking people to do something amazing: Register. Swab. Save a life. It could be Margot's or someone else's."

Potential donors can request a DIY saliva swab kit they can use at home, or can register as a stem cell donor at Delete Blood Cancer's website.

Just one week into the appeal, more than 12,000 people have requested the swab kits, the charity says.

The family have found a donor with a similar tissue type, but are holding out hope of finding someone who is a perfect match for Margot and is willing to donate stem cells or bone marrow.

"We embarked on this donor appeal knowing there was only a slim chance of finding a perfect match for Margot, but that's better that no chance," said Mr Martini.

"We feel like we need to do everything we can for her. We don't want to look back and think we haven't done everything we can."