Chenin Iglowitz, a 35 year old nurse and sergeant in the U.S. Army, has been fighting Large B-cell Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. She has been through 2 courses of chemotherapy and is in desperate need of stem cell donors whom match her "HLA profile."
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How You Can Help
The most significant way to help Chenin (or people with similar conditions) is to register to get tested. This only requires about 10 minutes and a simple cotton swab of the mouth.
Home Testing Kit
If you are a minority or mixed minority in the U.S., you can order a FREE home testing kit. Please visit www.aadp.org or call them at (510) 568-3700 to request a free kit.
In-Person
To expedite the longer amount of time it takes for the home testing kits to be received and processed, you may also register in-person at a local drive. Please visit Be The Match (NMDP). This is the fastest way to register and be entered to the international pool
In-Addition
Please tell them you responded to an appeal by Chenin Iglowitz and request "expedited processing" to cut the turnaround time down from months to weeks. TIME IS VERY CRUCIAL TO HER! Where the form asks for "additional notes", please enter "Request expedited processing for Chenin Iglowitz".
If you get tested, it would help us that you expedite the process by sending an email to Jerry Iglowitz, as it will allow me to alert her doctors to check the database frequently. In the email, please include the location where you were tested, and testing date. The reason for this is that the national database usually takes a few weeks to e updated with a new potential donor's test results. Again, for Chenin, time is of the essence. They will be expediting these samples so her doctors — or somebody else's doctors will be able to urgently retrieve possible matches.
Already Submitted Your Test?
Having registered and submitted your sample, your HLA type will be determined and recorded into the National "Be a Match" database. If you are a match for Chenin (or another individual in need of this life-saving treatment), the donation process is relatively easy. In over 70% of the time, it involves sitting in a donor chair for about 4–6 hours at a nearby hospital where they insert a needle into each arm. Your blood is then circulated through an "aphoresis machine" and all but your stem cells, (a few milliliters of specialized white cells) are given back to you. The risk is just about what it would be in donating blood, and that is exceedingly low.
