Swab for Indie

Indie Joy is just 3 years old, and she brings laughter and happiness to everyone she meets! Her favorite everyday attire usually features princess gowns, a braided hairstyle with lots of fun clips, and a pair of cowboy boots. She loves all things Disney and enjoys feeding treats to all of her animals. Some of her favorite activities include playing with her baby dolls, doing arts and crafts, picking flowers, and going to the park.

At first, Indie’s family began noticing that she had an occasional nose bleed. Then, unusual bruises began appearing all over her body. Concerned, Indie’s parents scheduled an appointment with her pediatrician for a checkup. There they did an exam and ran some blood work. Less than 24 hours later, Indie’s parents received a call from her doctor telling them to take her straight to Children’s Hospital immediately.

Within a matter of days, their lives changed forever. After extensive testing, a bone marrow biopsy, close monitoring, and blood transfusions, Indie was diagnosed with a very rare and life threatening blood disorder.

Indie needs a bone marrow transplant and she needs your help! If you are healthy and between the ages of 18 and 55, with just a simple mouth swab, you can join the donor registry and potentially be Indie’s lifesaving match. While younger donors are preferred due to Indie’s age, everyone who is eligible is strongly encouraged to register. Your decision to join could be the one that saves someone’s life.

Registering is simple, painless and could give Indie - and other patients like her - a second chance at life.

If you’re a match, donating is easier than you might think.

• 90% of donors donate through a non-surgical, outpatient procedure called PBSC (Peripheral Blood Stem Cell) donation. This process is similar to donating platelets. Before donating, injections are given to boost stem cell production. During donation, blood is drawn from one arm, passed through a machine that filters out the blood stem cells, and then returned through the other arm. This is the more commonly requested donation method.
• 10% of donors donate through a surgical procedure performed under general anesthesia, where marrow cells are collected from the back of the pelvic bone using a syringe.

The donation process is also completely FREE with all expenses paid for the donor including but not limited to: travel, hotel, transportation, pet care, etc.

You could be the one to save a life like Indie's.