Sisters Chelsea and Rachael Ratcliffe set to go under the knife for bone marrow donation

RACHAEL Ratcliffe’s bond with her sister Chelsea is written in their blood, so it’s no surprise her twin will donate bone marrow to save her life.

Chelsea Radcliffe is donating her bone marrow to her twin sister Rachael. Picture: Carmelo Bazzano

RACHAEL Ratcliffe’s bond with her sister Chelsea is written in their blood, so it’s no surprise her twin will donate bone marrow to save her life.

Rachael, 19, was diagnosed with aplastic anaemia on August 19 and last week their dream — the 30 per cent chance that Chelsea would be a bone marrow donor match — came true.

The Doncaster East sisters, who say they’re also best friends, will go under the knife for a stem cell transplant on October 18 at the Austin Hospital.

Chelsea and Rachael were ecstatic to discover they were a donor match. Picture: Carmelo Bazzano

Between now and then, though, it’s all hands on deck to ensure Rachael stays as healthy as she can.

Mum Sue Marsden, a single parent who has had to give up her job, is monitoring Rachael’s temperature around the clock with even a slight rise likely to lead to a rush to hospital.

Their brothers, Brendan, 21, and Ben, 18, are also rallying around Rachael, while the sisters in the thoughts of former classmates from East Doncaster Secondary College.

The close-knit circle of support also includes Chelsea’s boyfriend Nathan Fraser and Rachael’s partner Evan Kalcovski, who are best mates.

Rachael, who was studying year 12 at RMIT before she got sick, said she first started feeling ill a few weeks ago when she felt fatigued and noticed bruising on her lower legs and bleeding from her gums.

She had her first treatment, a form of chemotherapy, on August 23.

Mum Sue Marsden has quit working to help look after Rachael.

Rachael said she felt lucky when she learned Chelsea had been a match for a stem cell transplant.

“There was only about a 30 per cent chance of a sibling being a match, but she was probably going to be the best one because we’re twins,” she said.

Chelsea, who works at Charcoal Chicken in Tunstall Square, said she would “put everything on hold for Rachael”.

“They’re going to put a big old needle in my hipbone and they’ll poke me about a hundred times on each side, which they call bone marrow harvesting,” she said.

Sue said she had set up a Go Fund Me page to help cover medical expenses.

Details: gofund.me/help-rachael