Imagine starting 2016 with saving someone’s life.
A real opportunity exists to do that, particularly among the local multicultural community, as an urgent search gets underway to find a stem cell donor match for Lynn Valley’s Nancy Taylor.
Most of us are familiar with regular blood donation. But stems cells – the building blocks for all other blood cells – are a little different.
They can represent the last hope for people stricken with blood cancers like leukemia. But unlike blood donors, stem cell donors must be a close genetic match.
While blood cancers strike all ethnic groups, the list of people currently on the donor registry doesn’t reflect that. That means a large portion of our diverse population could be left waiting for the phone to ring when a donor is needed.
This week, folks on the North Shore have a chance to change that as the North Vancouver RCMP host a donation registry drive from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the detachment.
It’s easy to do. A cheek swab takes two minutes.
We’d encourage young men (who have more circulating stem cells) particularly those of diverse ethnic ancestry, to man up for this cause.
Currently 75 per cent of those needing stem cells in Canada can’t find a match within their own families. We need more people on our registry.
Nancy Taylor deserves this chance. But she’s just one of many.
Two minutes of your time could be the key to keeping someone’s family whole. You never know whose life you could save.
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