Natasha Falls from Ballygowan, County Down, suffers from the illness 18q deletion and is one of four children in the world who have the mosaic form of the rare disorder, which means she is missing part of chromosome 18. This means that the child can suffer up to 19 epileptic seizures in a day and her development is severely limited by the illness.
Her parents, Ian and Natalie, are trying to raise £150,000 to send her to a Chicago hospital for specialist treatment.
The little girl's aunt, Leanne Hampton, is on the staff at Magilligan and to date the efforts of both prisoners and staff has raised £3,000 to help 18-month old Natasha get the treatment. As well as contributing from their pocket-money the inmates have made collection boxes for the appeal and plan to raise even more money for the charity. To this end it is planned to hold a sponsored walk at the Giant's Causeway in early August.
Mother, Natalie thanked prison staff and inmates for responding to her daughter's plight: "We have been absolutely delighted with the support that has come from everyone in the Prison Service. We just can't thank everyone enough for what they are doing and continuing to do.
"We are overwhelmed by the fact that prison staff and the prisoners are working together to raise money. We appreciate everything Magilligan is doing and that they have got the support of Maghaberry and Hydebank Wood."
The family are hoping to travel to the Chicago hospital this week to set the wheels in motion to begin the life-saving treatment for Natasha.
Much more money is required to meet the total medical bill and if anyone should want to contribute they can get more information on www.natashafalls.com .