Libby and I often write about Hollywood do-gooders who use their star status to raise money for poverty-stricken families that live in some of the most desolate parts of the world, but rarely do we get to share stories of celebrities who go beyond just appearing at fundraisers and actually physically reach out to those in need.
Enter Rihanna. The Grammy-winning singer recently made headlines for coming to the aid of a leukemia-stricken New York City mom of two who desperately needs a bone marrow transplant.
The singer told reporters that when she learned about Lisa Gershowitz Flynn’s predicament her heart broke. The mother of two young children has an aggressive form of cancer called Acute Myelogenous Leukemia and doctors say she has just four to six weeks to find a life-saving donor match.
Since becoming acquainted with Flynn the 20-year-old singer has gone into overdrive trying to find a donor match for the ailing woman. Rihanna has taken time off from her music career and is working with DKMS–the world’s largest non-profit marrow donor center—trying to encourage people to become donors and hopefully find a match for Flynn.
Meanwhile, the singer’s own charity, Believe, which works specifically with children in need (and with children with leukemia) is also taking steps to try to find a potential marrow match for the 41-year-old mother whose best chance for survival might come from Jews of European (Ashkenazi) descent. (Doctors say people of that ethnicity are the best candidates for a match for Flynn). But anyone from 18 to 55 years old can be tested as a match for Flynn or thousands of others in need.
Medical experts say getting tested is easy. All it requires is sitting still for a cheek swab test, which is then sent to a national bone-marrow registry. If the marrow is a match, donors undergo a minor outpatient surgery in which doctors extract healthy stem cells to replace the patient’s unhealthy cells.
Rihanna says she is committed to finding a match for Flynn and hopes to recruit other celebs to get the word out about bone marrow transplants.
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