Team Athy!
The seventeen-year-old girl currently lives in Springfield Gardens, New York with her younger sister and her parents. Prior to that she lived in Jamaica, Queens. Ahtyana attends Cardoza High School in Queens. A natural athlete, Ahtyana has excelled at gymnastics and track and field since she was just three-years-old. The summer of 2010 she suddenly felt dizzy, having trouble walking up the stairs and legs and hips were tightening up and she was getting random bruises. September 21st she went to the hospital and tested her for everything and a week later she was diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia. Ahtyana is currently receiving treatment at Cohen Children’s Medical Center. She needs a bone marrow transplant to survive. Ahtyana and her family are working closely with DKMS Americas to find a match.
BECOME A LIFESAVER!
Ahtyana dances to her own beat! She is on a mission to beat aplastic anemia! Ahtyana's mission is to register donors that could be a match for patients awaiting a Bone Marrow transplant.
Ahtyana, along with students at Bloomfield College, Team Ahty, and DKMS, is encouraging minorities to "Get Swabbed!” Minorities are the lowest participating group for Bone Marrow donations. African Americans represent an alarming 7% of the National Bone Marrow registry. The number of patients waiting for a Bone Marrow transplant supersedes the registered donors. Becoming a Bone Marrow Donor means becoming a Lifesaver.
About DKMS
The DKMS mission is to save lives by recruiting bone marrow donors for leukemia patients. More than 23,000 DKMS donors have helped save lives by donating their bone marrow. DKMS is the largest bone marrow donor center in the world with over 2.5 million registered donors. DKMS Americas is a 501 (c)(3) non profit organization.
Why YOU are so important as a bone marrow donor?
Every 10 minutes blood cancer takes a life.
Leukemia is the most common disease children and young adults in the U.S die of, and a bone marrow transplant may be their only chance for survival.
Only 4 out of every 10 patients will receive the transplant that could save their lives.
What is the donation process like?
If you are found to be a match, a DKMS representative will contact you.
You will answer a health questionnaire, and if all is fine, you will go on for additional testing. (blood test and physical exam)
If you are still the best suitable donor, you will go on to donate in 1 of 2 ways.
1. Peripheral Blood Stem Cell (PBSC) – This procedure, called apheresis, involves receiving a medication that increases the number of the donor’s blood cells and then these cells are collected directly from the blood stream. Some donors have reported some bone or muscle achiness, but the side effects disappear shortly after the collection.
2. Bone Marrow Extraction - Marrow donation is a surgical procedure, usually outpatient. With this procedure, the cells are directly collected from the pelvic bone. Most donors report some soreness in the lower back for a few days after the donation, but nothing that should prevent you from your daily activities. (No Heavy Lifting/Strenuous Workout).