MaryKate is a sweet, spunky, sensible, talkative, and optimistic girl, born in December of 2007. She gets along well with the other children and she enjoys playing aeroplane chess, singling, dancing, and building things with Legos. She does not enjoy running.

MaryKate was born with beta thalassemia major and being adopted would absolutely extend, if not save, her life. She has been getting transfusions, but not nearly as often as she should be. She is also in great need of iron chelation medication.

Her file mentioned a heart defect – VSD – as a baby, but it likely resolved on its own as it has not been brought up since.

MaryKate is very responsible and mature for her age. She likes to help her caretakers and teachers. She is independent when it comes to her self care. She can be a little shy at first, but quickly warms up. Many adoptive parents and advocates who have met MaryKate adore her and recall her to be sweet and smart.

MaryKate communicates and answers questions well. She attends school at the orphanage and can recite poetry, do addition and subtraction problems, and sing the 26-letter alphabet song in English. MaryKate is obedient and does well in math, reading, Chinese, and English.

Her favorite foods are chips, chocolate, and cake, but she also likes grapes, apples, and bananas. She has been to Disney in 2015 and absolutely loved it! She loves Mickey Mouse and hopes to one day be able to go to Disney again!

MaryKate would love a family of her own and she desperately needs access to regular transfusions and chelation medication. A family for MaryKate will change her life, but truly save her life too!

You can see a video from when MaryKate was listed with another agency (with a different advocacy name) here. Password is stephanie and is case sensitive. And a short clip from a traveling family who met MaryKate can be seen here.

There is a $1,000 agency grant for MaryKate’s adoption with Madison Adoption Associates. The Cooley’s Anemia Foundation would also give a $1,000 grant for her adoption! Other grants may be available based on the adoptive family’s circumstances. Agency grants are awarded as agency fee reductions. MAA also partners with the Brittany’s Hope Foundation for matching grants, which are given out twice a year January and July) and to families that are officially matched with a child.

MaryKate needs a family with an approved home study to be able to move forward with adopting her. If you have an approved home study or a home study in process and are interested in adopting MaryKate, please fill out a free PAP Waiting Child Review Form, which can be found here.