Save Nina

A couple of weeks ago, two original readers, who happen to be twins wrote to me to talk about one of their best friends. I Tweeted their request, but yesterday, I was at Target and they have an electronic billboard and right when I looked up, I saw the billboard talking about their friend and took that as a sign that I need to do more than Tweet, and to do a post about their friend Nina.

Nina has lymphoma. She now has one month to find a bone marrow donor. If she finds one, doctors think she will live. Nina is married with a two year old son. Nina was diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in September of 2012. She endured 7 rounds of aggressive chemotherapy at UCLA to treat the disease, but after only two months of remission, the lymphoma recurred in her brain. Nina is currently undergoing continued chemotherapy to control the disease, but the aggressiveness of the disease requires an urgent stem cell transplant. Because of her Asian heritage, finding a match has been very challenging.

What her friends are asking is that you to please join the bone marrow registry by either getting typed with a home typing kit, or by getting typed in person at a local drive in LA, SF or NYC, especially if you are of Asian heritage. The process to find out if you are a match is very simple! Just order a kit, swab your cheek, and send the swab back in.

On the site, which you can access here, you can find a drive in your area and the dates of the drive. Even if you are not a match for Nina, hopefully, you can be a match for someone who needs your help.