HP4K Encourages You to Become Mandi’s Hero

Heroes required. All others need not apply.

We need your assistance to save a Yale University student’s life. Mandi Schwartz, a 22-year old member of the Yale women’s ice hockey team, has recently been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. She is currently back home in Saskatchewan undergoing chemotherapy, and within the next 60 days will need a stem cell transplant to survive. We have not yet located a donor who is a perfect match.

Under the leadership of Dr. Tedd Collins, a New Haven-based clinical immunologist, we are undertaking a world-wide search for cord blood and bone marrow donors. In addition to helping Mandi, these donors could also save the lives of many others with life-threatening illnesses. Dr. Collins has launched the “Become Mandi’s Hero” campaign to coordinate our efforts to find a donor.

HP4K’s own Brennan Turner has teamed up with Dr. Collins to reach out to communities across North America. We hope that you can help too. We are asking for assistance in locating potential donors.

Some of the best ways you can help are by doing any of the following:

• Learn more about the cause. Visit www.BecomeMandisHero.org and join the “Become Mandi’s Hero” Facebook group to learn about Mandi and the importance of being a cord blood or bone marrow donor. This is also the place to post messages of encouragement for Mandi, since her family checks it for her regularly while she is undergoing chemotherapy. You can also read some of the articles that have been written about Mandi by visiting www.yalebulldogs.com/mandi/

• Contact OB/GYN offices or delivery hospitals. Through the “One Hour Hero” program, we are asking volunteers to spend one hour contacting OB/GYN offices or delivery hospitals to explain what we are doing. You will then ask them if they would help us by giving our postcard brochure to expectant moms that fit our needs — those that will be having their babies within the next 60 days and will give birth to babies of Mandi’s ancestry. For more information, visit http://www.becomemyhero.org/Mandi_Schwartz/One_Hour_Hero.pdf.

• Donate the cord blood from your child’s birth. This process is free and harmless for all involved, and it could save a life. In many cases the umbilical cords that could save someone like Mandi’s life wind up getting thrown away. If you are expecting a child, visit www.BecomeMandisHero.org to learn more about the cord blood donation process.

• Spread the word about the importance of being a donor. Contact everyone you know — especially media outlets — to tell them Mandi’s story and how bone marrow or cord blood donation could help save lives. Use phone calls, e-mail, Facebook, Twitter and any other means you can think of to contact people. Refer them to www.BecomeMandisHero.net for further information. Note that donors of German, Russian or Ukrainian descent are most likely to be matches for Mandi, so we are particularly interested in reaching out to those communities.

• Join the bone marrow donor registry, and encourage others to sign up. The test to be a potential bone marrow donor is simple and painless — it consists of swabbing your cheeks. Websites such as www.marrow.org and www.onematch.com contain the necessary information for you to find a drive near you or to request a kit be sent to you.

We are hoping that by informing you of this urgent need, we will help save Mandi’s life and the lives of many others. We appreciate any help you can provide. If you have any further questions, or other ideas about how you can help, please e-mail info@BecomeMandisHero.net.

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