A mother of two from Brighton, UK is seeking a stem cell donor with Irish or Anglo-Burmese background for an essential bone marrow transplant.
Nikki Braterman, 45, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in December 2013 – her disease has a rare cytogenetic abnormality that puts her at a great risk of relapsing after chemotherapy.
As of September 10, the relapse has occurred and the Braterman family is now desperately searching for Nikki’s ‘perfect ten match.’ They had previously found a donor in France who turned out to be only a 9/10 match.
“I’m a mum to two small children, aged 7 and 4 and I want to see them grow up,” Nikki said. “If you are reading this story and think that you may be able to help then please, please get in touch. You might just be able to save my life.”
The family is seeking donors who share Nikki’s ethnic background of Irish and Anglo-Burmese, but you can be Anglo-Indian or any Anglo-Asian mix. Those with Portuguese surnames (de Souza, de Castro) are good contenders.
They are looking for as many people as possible to sign up; with rare ethnic mixes like Nikki’s, the chances of finding a donor can be quite low.
“We are desperately and urgently seeking a perfect match donor for my beautiful wife Nikki. I don’t want to lose her and I don’t want my kids to grow up without their mum,” her husband Geoff said.
“Please take a look at our website and share our story on social media. The right donor is out there somewhere – we just need to find them quickly.”
If you think you may be able to help Nikki, check out your national registry. In the UK, this can be with the Anthony Nolan Trust, Delete Blood Cancer or with the British Bone Marrow Registry.
Outside of the UK, please see the list of Bone Marrow Registers.
Here’s what’s involved in being Nikki’s perfect ten match.
Check out and share the website and Facebook page and Twitter feed @Perfecttenmatch.
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