It is great to celebrate this milestone and see Ava enjoying life

Mum pays tribute to daughter and Record's donor campaign

- RUTH SUTER

A SCHOOLGIRL celebrated her ninth stem cell transplant anniversary after a lifesaving Record campaign to find her a suitable donor.

Ava Todd, 12, was diagnosed with inherited bone marrow failure at just three years old.

At the time, the brave youngster, from Lochgelly in Fife, relied on blood and platelet transfusions to stay alive while waiting for a donor.

After a global search for a match spearheaded by the Daily Record, Juleena Masters, who lives in Oklahoma, US, became Ava's hero.

Our appeal prompted more than 83,000 people to join the stem cell register before Juleena, 47, went on to become Ava's match.