'Thank you, every kind soul': Singaporean parents grateful after raising $2.4m for baby's rare disorder treatment
With the help of over 35,000 donors, Ginny's parents were able to hit the $2.4 million goal.
PHOTO: Instagram/Baby Ginny
PUBLISHED ONMarch 23, 2026 3:08 AMBYEsther LamA couple's crowdfunding campaign has successfully raised $2.4 million for five-month-old baby Ginny, after she was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition.
A total of $2,446,275.40 was raised, with the help of over 35,000 donors.
Her parents, Jenny Mak and Quan, told AsiaOne that they had successfully raised the amount and have started arranging for Ginny to undergo the necessary health tests.
They added that Ginny has to clear the tests, scheduled for next week, before the medicine can be ordered and imported — which will take at least two to three weeks.
The couple shared the news across social media on Saturday, captioning: "Thank you, every one of you 35,544 donors. Every kind soul in this world. I love all of you and will forever be grateful."
Baby Ginny was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) — a genetic disease that destroys motor neurons and weakens muscles progressively — a few weeks ago.
The couple launched the crowdfunding page on Ray of Hope on March 12 to raise the funds needed to afford Zolgensma, a one-time gene therapy, which is not covered by insurance or government subsidies and costs around $2.4 million.
Without any treatment, Ginny's life expectancy is estimated to be under two years.
While the funds were being raised, Ginny had been taking oral medication and undergoing physiotherapy at KKH in hopes of slowing down the disease progression.
The baby's doctor, Dr Jocelyn Lim, a senior consultant with the neurology service at the Department of Paediatrics at KKH, told The Straits Times that Type 1 SMA is the most common and severe type of SMA, with symptoms showing up within the first six months of life.
"Type 1 SMA patients like Ginny will have low muscle tone, poor neck control and poor leg movements.
"They also have difficulties swallowing and feeding, and often have poor weight gain. They can have frequent respiratory infections that take longer to recover from," said Dr Lim previously.
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