An Urgent Plea for an Asian-Caucasian Stem Cell Donor
By her father Jerry Iglowitz
 Our daughter Chenin, age 35, is suffering from refractory, large B-cell lymphoma which has resisted two courses of chemotherapy. She is in desperate need of a stem cell transplant which might save her life. The problem is that the donor must be an HLA, (tissue type), match, and this kind of match is likely only for someone of mixed Asian (Sino-Asian, rather than Indo-Asian) and Caucasian descent. I think anyone fitting the profile above would fit, and it is important they be tested -if not for her, then for some other person in need. But I am especially requesting persons whose parents roughly fit the profile of my wife and myself will agree to be tested. For Chenin, time is of the essence. (Hyperlink to how to get tested.)
My lineage:
Father: 100% Ashkenazi Jew
Mother: ½ Irish, the other ½ a mix of Dutch, French and English
My wife’s lineage: Her genealogy is 100% Cantonese. (She was born in Albany, California.)
Hyperlink to what “stemcells” are and why they are used: CLICK HERE for Downloadable DOC
Frequently asked questions: CLICK HERE
A Link to Chenin’s Xanga Site Blog: CLICK HERE
Online link to Wall Street Journal article about the use and availability of stem cells: CLICK HERE
Here is a clip from Chenin’s Xanga page started when she was stationed for four years in Hawaii. She was subsequently transferred to Madigan Hospital at Ft. Lewis, Washington where she was a nurse in Labor and Delivery – which she dearly loves.
Name: Chenin
Country: United States
State: Hawaii
Metro: Honolulu
Birthday: 3/18/1974
Gender: Female
Interests: Motorcycle riding, photography, Playing the guitar, Laughing at dorky jokes! classical piano, hiking, paddling, Swimming, singing, long walks at night, stargazing, get togethers with my family, engaging conversations, meeting people, naps! Enjoying Life and the Amazing Creations of God around me every day!
Expertise: Getting my foot stuck in my mouth! Learning the meaning of humility through everyday life, living one day at a time!
Occupation: Medical
Industry: Art
(CLICK HERE to view and print Chenin's flyer) Note: This is a printable 8.5" x 11" PDF.
Here are a couple of recent pictures of her:
Chen as of today
Chen and her sister Mook-Lan at Mook-Lan’s graduation from med school last year
A family photo.
Here is an excerpt from her blog in July. I think it shows who she is:
In the middle of the night...
It’s times like this when you’re awake and the rest of the world is snoring away when you wonder what you did wrong…. I tried to sleep. Really I did. I laid there and closed my eyes and thought calm thoughts and varied every possible body position to fade into rest but it didn’t happen. First ugly pictures and then…my mind took off running.
So I prayed and talked to God about a lot: asking forgiveness & unloading a lot of past junk telling Him what I would like to accomplish relationally in life. Then I tried some visualization techniques on my tumor getting smaller… I got sidetracked a little and started to fall asleep…but then, the steroids and my bladder decided to wake me up so I got up and then when I laid back down, IT, the moment of falling asleep, was gone. ACK!
So I got up and tried to eat a snack…didn’t taste right.
Then I looked at rental applications since mom has been so awesome to go driving and searching all over the known world of Tacoma and nearby areas for a new home because we have to move in the middle of all of this.
But that in the long run isn’t very calming either. So here I am typing out some more of my thoughts in the hopes that it will pour them out of my head (where they’re wreaking havoc running in circles all night) and on to paper where I can leave them and go back to bed.
I watched this testimony on the web earlier today of a guy who serves at New Hope (my old church in Hawaii) he talked about the important things in his life and why he chooses to serve & help the church every Sun. It was amazing. He loves his wife and has two beautiful children and he talks about Saturdays being family days and how he appreciates the time he has with his family and then he goes into what he does for the church. He helps with the videotaping of the services every Sunday from a wake up of about 0430 until late in the afternoon. Then he talked about having cancer ,not a curable kind, but how he still chooses to serve at the church because it enriches his life and the life of others. And his cancer is progressing and he looks like he’s in a lot of discomfort and weaker and yet still he serves.
It made me think about what am I doing for God while all this other stuff is going on? Most people would probably let you off the hook if you chose to focus completely on yourself while going through treatment for cancer. But I don’t think I can do that. Only I don’t know what to do? Guess I’ll start with continuing the loving on my family and friends. And then on to whatever comes next. And being grateful for what I have already! Thank you God for today. Even though I didn’t feel too great. Thank you for my family. They just love me. For my mom who does so much I can’t even begin to list, for my dad and all his support--who sat and tried to cheer me up today while I cried over my hair starting to fall out, again. For my sister who even though she has to work all sorts of crazy rotations and hours, who is trying to survive as a human being in the rat race and maintain her work life, friendships and a boyfriend that lives on the other side of the world still manages to have energy to help me with my toenail art and take a little “Guaymas girl” time together. To my uncles Doug, Rich, Bee and Matt who call to cheer me up and the rest of my friends & relatives who love me.
Be with them God and help them find joy and peace and strength in you somehow by your light in me. Is that even possible? I know the rest of the stuff on my mind: The stress over the right rental, the move, the trip to Seattle, the stem cell transplant…this cancer- my life… well, all I know is that God knows all things. And He will work them out for the good of those who love Him….so that means they’ll work out right? J
Ok, Let’s try and go back to sleep….
Chen’s lineage again:
My lineage: Father: 100% Ashkenazi Jew
Mother: ½ Irish, the other ½ a mix of Dutch, French and English
My wife’s lineage: Her genealogy is 100% Cantonese. (She was born in Albany, California.)
As a nurse at Tripler Hospital in Hawaii 2006
HOW TO GET TESTED:
We're humbly asking that anyone fitting this profile-or any other, similar racial profile- who is between the ages of 18 and 60, to have their HLA type tested to see if they if they are a potential donor for Chenin or any other person of similar background who is in need. Determining HLA type is easy. Fill out the online form at the AADP (Asian American Donor Program) web site, at http://www.aadp.org/pages/register.php
Where the form asks for 'Additional notes', please enter "Request expedited processing for Chenin Iglowitz” ". The organization will send you a home test kit (swabs used for taking a buccal sample, -ie. a sample swab from inside the cheek), with a package to return the kit by mail.
(If you wish to be tested for Chenin alone, please contact me at jiglowitz@rcsis.com to arrange for private testing at www.bonemarrowtest.com. This step is unnecessary if you are willing to help others in need like her.)
Having registered and submitted your sample, your HLA type will be determined and recorded into the national “Be a Match” database. If you are a match for Chenin (or another individual in need of this lifesaving treatment), the donation process is relatively easy. It involves sitting in a donor chair for about 4 to 6 hours where they insert a needle into each arm. Your blood is then circulated through an “aphoresis machine” and all but your stem cells, (a few mls of specialized white cells), is given back to you. The risk is just about what it would be in donating blood, and that is exceedingly low.
If you get tested, it would help us that you expedite the process by sending an email to Jerry Iglowitz, (jiglowitz@rcsis.com),Chenin’s father as it will allow me to alert her doctors to check the database frequently.
In the email, please include the location where you were tested, and testing date. The reason for this is that the national database usually takes a few weeks to be updated with a new potential donor's test results.
Again, for Chenin, time is of the essence. They will be expediting these samples so her doctors –or somebody else’s doctors will be able to urgently retrieve possible matches."
Thank you –it is not a sufficient word,
Jerry Iglowitz
(Chenin's Father)
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