Norah Needs You

Chabad of Alameda invites you to Swab for Norah!

Stop over and get swabbed at the Italian American Hall 2712 Encinal Ave.

Sunday, Jan 6th, any time from 2:30 - 5:00pm.

A local Alameda girl needs YOUR HELP!

Norah is an expert joke-teller, modern-dancer, ice cream-licker, and loving big sister. At five years old, she takes her jobs pretty seriously. 

Norah was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called Fanconi Anemia (FA). Essentially, FA interferes with her body's ability to properly repair its DNA. If untreated, it increases her risk of leukemia or bone marrow failure to 90%.
Norah will need a bone marrow transplant. Unfortunately, none of Norahs family members are a match for her. Norah has a donor match out there - it could be YOU.

Stop over to the drive and time between 2:30 and 5:00pm to get swabbed and learn more. (You do not have to be swabbed at the drive!) 

Light refreshments will be served.

*****Who?*****

While finding an exact bone marrow match is difficult, the likelihood of a match increases substantially among ancestral lines, and for Norah this means we are looking primarily for a donor with Jewish Ashkenazi (Eastern European) ancestry.

However, Norah's family is also determined to increase the pool of potential bone marrow donors in the registry for all those in need of a transplant, as a lack of diverse donors, and mixed-race donors in particular, contributes to health inequities.

*****What age?*****

In accordance with national guidelines and consistent with the medical needs of the patients, Gift of Life has updated the registration requirements for new donors to the ages of 18 to 45 (inclusive). This is due to clinical reasons that improve transplant outcomes. Statistically, over 90 percent of transplants take place with donors in this age category. 

Donors who are between the ages of 46 to 60 (inclusive) may still join the registry but will either need to cover the $60 cost of the test or be placed in the queue for processing after the donors in the other category are tested.

See more at www.norahneedsyou.com