A man, who, in every other way is a healthy and fit 62 year old, has been dealing with two difficult forms of cancer. After responding well to his treatment for Multiple Myeloma, he has recently been diagnosed with Leukeumia, a rare side-effect of the chemotherapy. He will need a stem cell transplant, and the stem cell center at Stanford University hopes to find a close match within the next few weeks. In this patient's case, it is likely that a match would have Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry. However, donors with all possible backgrounds are needed for the international registry.

Once you receive your cheek swab kit, you will swab your inner cheek and mail the swab off to be registered in the worldwide pool of stem cell donors. To qualify to register, you must be age 18-60 and in good health.

This diagnosis is still new, but in order for this patient to have the best shot at beating Leukemia, he will move quickly into treatment. Please consider joining the registry and sharing this request with others, particularly within the Jewish community. If you are not a match, you could save the life of someone in a similar situation.