By: Teddi Wiggins
DKMS is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to eradicating blood cancer and blood disorders, such as leukemia and sickle cell disease. With the help of passionate volunteers, we have signed up over 11 million potentially lifesaving donors worldwide and provided over 99,000 second chances at life. DKMS was born from one family’s struggle to find a lifesaving stem cell donor. Since 1991, DKMS has been dedicated to facilitating as many second chances at life as possible in order to give families more time with their loved ones.
Zora is a 42 year old wife and mother of 2 young boys. She is one of 15,000 patients in the US searching for a matching donor for a second chance at life. Prior to her diagnosis with acute myeloid leukemia, Zora and her family led a life full of adventure: traveling, snowboarding, camping and exploring as a family. Heritage matters when it comes to finding a matching donor due to the fact that we are genetically connected to those who are from the same part of the world. Zora is of Serbian/Croatian heritage.
Signing up as a potential donor takes a matter of minutes and involves understanding what happens IF found to be a matching donor, filling out a form and swabbing the insides of your cheeks. YOU just might be the ONE for Zora or someone else’s mother, sister, child or friend. If you’d like to order a swab kit please go to www.dkms.org/runproject for more information.