NEWBURGH, NY — Rose Bradwell is a 46-year-old wife and the mother of three daughters. She is battling leukemia and is in urgent need of a blood stem cell or bone marrow transplant in order to survive.

Bradwell was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in December 2020. She is of Haitian descent and her best chance of finding a match is with someone of similar ancestry. Her family is working with the Gift of Life Marrow Registry to encourage young adults from the Haitian community in particular to join in the effort to save her life.

To defeat AML and recover her health, Bradwell needs a peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) or bone marrow transplant from a donor who shares her same tissue type. None of Rose’s siblings are a close enough match to donate – about 70 percent of patients do not have a match within their family. And like 75 percent of Black blood cancer patients, Bradwell does not currently have a viable match in the worldwide registry.

To join the registry, donors simply swab the inside of their cheeks and complete a registration questionnaire. Those aged 18 to 35, who are in good health—the ideal demographic for successful transplants—are especially urged to join.

Swab kits can be ordered and delivered to your home by visiting giftoflife.org/Rose. To hold a donor recruitment drive, email Traci Ackerman at tackerman@giftoflife.org.

You can also support Rose Bradwell by donating to her family’s fundraising Donor Circle campaign at https://www.giftoflife.org/rose. Every contribution helps Gift of Life add new donors to the registry and goes directly toward testing the swab kits in order to find matches for Bradwell and other patients in need of donors.

“If you’re healthy and of the right age, please consider joining the registry to help save Rose or another patient battling blood cancer,” said Mari Freund, Gift of Life’s director of organizational advancement. “Please also consider a donation to offset the costs associated with testing the swab kits.”

Gift of Life Marrow Registry is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit headquartered in Boca Raton, FL. The organization, established in 1991, is dedicated to saving lives by facilitating blood stem cell and bone marrow transplants for patients with leukemia, lymphoma and other blood-related diseases. The registry houses its own stem cell collection center, biobank and laboratory. To learn more about Gift of Life Marrow Registry, visit www.giftoflife.org.