I’m a 48-year-old wife and mom of three girls ages 19, 17, & 14. In December of 2020, I was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) and immediately transferred to the oncology department, given a bone marrow biopsy, and started on chemotherapy.
To defeat AML and recover my health, I need a bone marrow transplant from a donor who shares my same tissue type. Sadly, none of my siblings are a close enough match to donate – And like 75% of Black blood cancer patients, I do not currently have a viable match in the worldwide registry.
You could be my lifesaving hero without even knowing it! I learned that ancestry and ethnicity play a crucial role in finding a match, so my family is working with a nonprofit called Marrow Mates to reach out to my genetic relatives to spread the word about my need for a stem cell donor. It is extremely hard reaching out like this, but I am doing all I can to find my match.
I am sharing a personal video and a link to a news story about me. I’ve also included a link to my Marrow Mates Gift of Life Donor Circle, where you can sign up to join the global stem cell registry and see if you are my match. All it takes is to swab the inside of your cheek with a cotton swab. When you register, Marrow Mates will send you the swab kit. That’s all it takes!
My story in the Haitian times: https://haitiantimes.com/2023/11/19/florida-mom-seeks-haitian-american-blood-donors-for-leukemia-treatment/
My personal story told by NFL player Gregory Rousseau (Buffalo Bills defensive end) https://bit.ly/3UJLjm4
Marrow Mates: https://www.marrowmates.org/About-Us/Extended-Family-Donor-Search-Initiative
South Florida Caribbean News interview:
https://sflcn.com/west-palm-beach-haitian-mom-with-blood-cancer-searches-for-donor-to-save-her-life/#google_vignette
People of African, Haitian or Caribbean descent and mixed ethnicities are extremely underrepresented on the global registries, so if you or anyone in your family were to find themselves in my situation, it would likely be difficult for them to find a donor too. We need to increase the number of people of our ethnicity on the global registries to help save lives!
I'm genuinely grateful for any interest and support in sharing my story with other family members. I believe that the more people who are aware of my search, the closer I come to finding a matching stem cell donor and beating this painful disorder.
I hope to hear back from you soon, please feel free to ask any questions and I will do my best to answer them. If I am unable to reply to you due to health, Marrow Mates will reply on my behalf.
All the best,
Rose