A mother fighting cancer has only one Mother’s Day wish this year: to find her bone marrow match so she can live to see her teen daughter grow up, graduate, get married and everything else a mother dreams of for her children.
Maritza, who is 45 years old and living in Sherman Oaks, CA is a devoted, hardworking single mother who loves the outdoors, reading and going to church. She is of Latino heritage with roots in El Salvador.
Maritza’s Latino heritage makes it more challenging to find her match. Typically, a match will come from a donor who shares a recipient’s ethnic background; unfortunately, minorities are severely underrepresented on the registry. According to DKMS, the nonprofit leading the fight against blood cancer, only 9% of Latinos make up the donor pool.
Swabbing your cheek is all it takes to register as a potential donor and help give Maritza the greatest Mother’s Day gift of all. Please click here to learn more.
