Cem is a husband and father of two living in Turkey, who, until a routine doctor's visit a few years ago, was living a normal life with his young family. Already having a mother with blood cancer and being naturally curious and studious about medical subjects on blood illnesses, Cem already had a good knowledge of these diseases, though, it still did not prepare him to face his own battle with blood cancer. Since his diagnosis in 2019, Cem has been fighting Myelofibrosis; A rare blood cancer that, among other complications, causes scarring of the bone marrow tissue inside the bones, and has the potential to eventually develop into an even more aggressive form of blood cancer. The diagnosis was a hard hit for him and his family, but he tries so much to live life positively, “I try to live every moment I spend with my family in the most enjoyable way.” Cem said.

Because of his diverse ethnicity and the limited numbers of registered potential marrow donors of his ancestral heritage, Cem, like so many others, is struggling to find a suitable marrow donor match. His heritage is mostly Turkish and Greek, with a good helping of ancestral connection to other countries around the mediterranean and middle east as well. If you have any ancestral connection to these regions of the world, please consider joining your national registry for Cem. Simply go to “Join a Registry” on our homepage and find your country’s registry.

As Cem says, “What could be better than saving lives?”