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Kailee Wells, recipient of marrow transplant, will travel to China

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She's 4 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs 70 pounds. She attends fifth grade at a regular school and just got her report card — six A's, two B's and a C.

For Kailee Wells, a former Albuquerque girl who has been battling a rare blood disorder, any of those typical-girl achievements counts as a milestone.

But this Christmas she'll go even further, traveling to China to raise awareness about the need for bone marrow donors — and maybe to meet the donor who helped grant her continued life.

Kailee and her parents, Owen and Linda Wells, will travel to China from Dec. 18-27 for a celebration and publicity drive to recruit new donors, Owen Wells said Wednesday.

Kailee, 10, has spent half her life fighting very severe aplastic anemia, a disease in which bone marrow cannot produce enough red blood cells.

Kailee underwent a first transplant using cells that were not a perfect match because no perfect donor match could be found, despite her parents' search around the globe. Twice, that search took Linda Wells to China, Kailee's birthplace and the place where she was adopted by the Wellses as an infant.

A second transplant took place Nov. 7, 2005, after that elusive perfect donor — a physician from China whom the Wellses call their miracle man — was found. A third transplant was done Feb. 3 at the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, where the family now lives.

As part of their search for a donor, the Wellses have helped recruit marrow donors in China, the United States and around the world.

Owen Wells said when they first went to China in 2003, the donor registry had 20,000 potential donors. Today it has grown to 750,000. The Wells family hopes the drive this month will help push the number to 1 million.

The family will also help lead the the National Marrow Donor Program's "Thanks, Mom" drive next year on Mothers Day.

Recruitment of donors from all minority groups is especially important, Owen Wells said.

"Our family wants to continue to create awareness and help out the world's registries," he said.

Kailee continues to show signs of recovery, he said. Her blood counts show she is building red and white blood cells, but her platelet counts are extremely low, he said.

It usually takes about two years after a marrow transplant to get counts close to normal and, so far, it has been less than a year, he said.

"It's a long, slow waiting game while she gradually rebuilds her immune system," he said.

Owen Wells said he hopes the family will be able on its trip to meet Wang Lin, the Chinese doctor who became Kailee's donor. The Wellses have exchanged letters, and the doctor has even said he feels as though Kailee is a daughter to him, Owen Wells said.

"Kailee was given life by China, and she was given life again by Dr. Wang Lin. And for that we are so grateful," he said.