In memory of Liyna
Every 3 minutes, someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with blood cancer and every 10 minutes someone dies of blood cancer. For many, a stem cell transplant can be a lifesaving treatment for blood cancer and 70 other diseases.
YOU just might be the ONE person who can give someone a second chance to live by registering today. As it is said, Saving one life is like saving all of humanity.
Our 30 year old daughter, Liyna a graduate of UCLA and a brilliant journalist worked for NPR, StoryCorps and the Los Angeles Times before she passed away in March 2020 after a courageous, fifteen month battle with acute myeloid leukemia. Liyna’s best chance for a cure was a blood stem cell transplant.
There is a world stem cell registry of over 22 million potential stem cell donors. Unfortunately, Liyna could not find a perfect matching donor, because the registry has less that 2 percent from South East Asia, our ethnicity. South Asian, African Americans, Hispanic and other minorities are severely underrepresented in the world stem cell registry.
Although Liyna may have physically left this world, her legacy of hope endures. Because so many people loved Liyna, and because of the many kind and selfless people who simply wanted to help. Liyna’s campaign, “Team Liyna,” enlisted over 12,500 new donors to the registry while she was alive and to date at least 10 patients have received a life-saving transplant because of someone that registered in Liyna’s name.
Because of these efforts, Liyna was selected by the New York Times as one of the “7 History Making Women” who died in 2020.
We all lost a beautiful, intelligent, loving daughter and friend……. Our Mission is to ensure that NO other family has to go through such loss for lack of a matching blood stem cell donor.
In Liyna's memory, Team Liyna needs your help to save more precious lives. Anyone between the ages of 18-55 years and in good health can register and be a potential donor. It doesn’t cost you anything and only requires three cheek swabs to register and everything is strictly confidential and follows federal guidelines.
Only if you match with someone in the world you will be asked to donate your stem cells. All details are provided to potential donors before they register. Please click the “register now” link to start the process and receive your free cheek swab kit in the mail.
If you are so inclined, you may also click the “make a gift” link below to donate to DKMS and help them continue its mission of finding more matches, and saving more precious lives.