Donor Story: 16-year-old raises $12,000 to save hundreds of children’s lives

In less than three months, 16-year-old Reem Siddiqui raised $12,000 to help kids with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) receive life-saving treatment.

The funds donated to The Children’s Foundation will be used to support the Children’s Hospital of Michigan (CHM), providing transportation for many metro Detroit families who have challenges getting their child to and from appointments.

Reem’s mom, Rana Khatib, M.D., is a pediatrician at CHM’s Sickle Cell Disease Clinic which experiences patients missing their appointments quite often due to transportation issues.

“When I was younger and had a day off from school because of a snow day or just a day off, I would often go with my mom to work,” Reem said. “And I would notice some of her patients missing appointments because they couldn’t find transportation.”

For patients with SCD, missing an appointment can lead to unpredictable pain, anemia, infection, or even a stroke. Some kids come in twice per year, while others must come in as often as once a month. Though insurance does pay for transportation, it is often unreliable.

The $12,000 donation will provide approximately 400 patients with roundtrips to and from the hospital – and Reem is continuing her fundraising efforts throughout the year. She created a non-profit called MiCaringHeart where people can donate and learn more about the SDC Clinic and their patients.

“This is something our clinic needed.” Reem’s mother, Dr Khatib said. “So as a physician that takes care of patients with sickle cell, I couldn’t be happier. As a mother, I couldn’t be prouder. And I’m happy that those visits that were seemingly innocent weren’t a waste.”

Visit MiCaringHeart.com to learn more.