Umbilical Cord Blood Donor Urgently Sought

Message from Yale Athletics on behalf of a very ill Yale student, Mandi Schwartz:

Mandi suffers from leukemia and we are in search of women expecting a baby in the next 60 days of German, Russian, or Ukrainian descent (or any combination thereof). We would ask those we can locate to sign up to a registry indicating they are willing to be considered to donate their umbilical cord blood (this process is free and takes place after delivery; the umbilical cord otherwise gets thrown away). Location does not matter; the cord blood can be transported from anywhere in the world.

We are calling on all logical resources of people who might have access to reach such women, their OBGYN or other caregivers, or media outlets that reach these audiences either here or abroad to help us spread the word.

Individuals can be as different as night and day. However, different races and ethnicities, more or less, demonstrate some HLA types more than others. Babies born with any combination of German, Ukrainian and Russian heritage have a higher likelihood of producing cord blood that can be used to save Mandi's life, and we're all but begging anyone having a baby with this heritage to be donate.

If you are expecting to deliver before October 15, 2010 and would like to donate your baby's cord blood, please click on the link below.

Kidney Donor Needed

A living kidney donor is needed for a Cheshire woman. Harriet Linder has not been able to find a match among her family and friends. She has spent her life as a teacher, volunteer, and mother, giving to others, and now needs this gift to continue to live her life as normally as possible. The altruistic donor should have type B or O blood, although other blood types can be considered for a paired donation swap.

The potential donor must be in good health, free of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, and other serious diseases. Medical expenses relevant to the donation will be covereed by the patient's medical insurance. The donor must have a primary care doctor for follow-up visits.

This is an altruistic donation. There will be no financial compensation for the donor.
Donors must be residents of the United States.

Inquiries can be made to Harriet Linder directly at 203-272-1261 or 203-631-5711 or in her name in Connecticut to Joyce Albert, R.N., Transplant Coordinator at Yale New Haven Hospital at 203-688-8373 or Joyce.Albernhh.org or in New Jersey to Allison McCabe, R.N., at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at (732) 2325-8841 or (732) 235-8695.