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Rihanna, 50 Cent & Pharrel, Linkin Park Join Fight for Toddler's Life

06/03/2011
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(Sunshine, Sachs) Actors, musicians & bands from all walks of life are leveraging the power of social media to spread the word about Ayelet Galena, a one-year-old Upper West Side toddler with a rare bone marrow failure disorder who will not survive if she does not receive a transplant soon.

Gossip Girl Leighton Meester was the first to rally her fans around the cause, "we need to find a donor for Ayelet. She will not survive if she doesn't find a bone marrow donor," said Meester. "I urge everyone to get swabbed, so Ayelet can find her perfect match."

Rihanna and Pharrel quickly followed suit by taking to their Twitter accounts urging their fans to get swabbed, "Can you help me find a lifesaver for baby Ayelet and other patients? #Getswabbed because maybe YOU can save a life! http://bit.ly/dkmskit"

50 Cent posted to his Twitter and Facebook, "Help baby AYELET http://bit.ly/swabbed. She deserves to live u can save her n others get swabbed ya heard @getswabbed"

Over Memorial Day weekend Enrique Iglesias, Linkin Park, Panic at the Disco, Gym Class Heroes & Avenged Sevenfold joined the social media bandwagon and posted about Baby Ayelet which resulted in over 800 online registrations but the search for a match is far from over. DKMS is urging everyone to sign up for a registration kit online at www.GetSwabbed.org or get in touch with DKMS if you would like to organize a bone marrow drive in honor of Ayelet. Give a little of your time to give Ayelet and others a whole lifetime!

Hindy, Ayelet's mother, says, "Every time my baby gets a tiny cold, I wonder if she will be able to fight it off. I know there is some charitable soul out there who can save my daughter. We must find that person, that match! Please do a simple cheek swab to help Ayelet and many other patients to see if you can be that match."

Every day thousands of patients search the national registry hoping to find a bone marrow donor match. Only 4 out of 10 patients are lucky enough to receive a transplant. "I am blown away by the generosity of our celebrity ambassadors and their loyal fans," said Katharina Harf, COO of DKMS Americas. "DKMS now has over 50 million fans on Facebook and we registered over 800 potential donors over a holiday weekend! The power of social media is staggering---but there is still so much more that can be done. We need your help so we can save more lives."

Registering to become a bone marrow donor is more than a cheek swab; it is a commitment to help save a life. You must be between 18 and 55 and in good general health. When you register with DKMS, you will also be listed on the national registry and can be found as a donor match for any patient in need of a bone marrow transplant.

Registering one potential bone marrow donor costs DKMS $65. Because DKMS does not require new donors to pay the registration fee and does not receive government funding, DKMS must rely on donations from the general public to fund donor registrations. 100% of your financial contribution is used to register new potential donors. Every dollar counts!

Get more info at http://www.getswabbed.org/

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