Denver hosted a bone marrow typing drive on July 14 as part of the “Save Nina” efforts for a Los Angeles woman, Nina Polvanich Louie, who has lymphoma. Lymphoma can be treated, but Nina has not found a match in the registry.

The Save Nina Bone Marrow Typing Drive on July 14 brought the community to the Chinese Evangelical Church of Denver with 90 people typed to help save Nina!
The Save Nina Bone Marrow Typing Drive on July 14 brought the community to the Chinese Evangelical Church of Denver with 90 people typed to help save Nina!

Leah Choi, the Denver organizer said, “I believe that one of the greatest bonds between anything in this world is the bond between a mother and a child.”

“On this level, I sympathize with Nina. She is fighting for her life and like any good mother, her number one priority is her son. She deserves more time with him and with this mindset, I organized the bone marrow drive.”

More than 250 drives have been set up around the world with nearly 10,000 people typed. These drives have helped find bone marrow matches for two other patients so far and the hope is for Nina to be next.

Choi said, “Although Nina is a complete stranger, we truly came together as a community to help a fellow Asian-American, a wife, and a young mother.”

“From the large volunteer base to the 90 people who committed to donating bone marrow, I was genuinely touched and humbled by the compassion of others. I can’t do much to show my appreciation, but to those who made a financial contribution, to those who put forth their time and energy volunteering and to those who came to get swabbed, THANK YOU!”

For more information or to get a free home typing kit, visit www.savenina.com.

Nina Polvanich Louie (left) has lymphoma. Lymphoma can be treated, but Nina has not found a match in the registry. You can help by getting typed with a free home typing kit, or by getting typed in person at a local drive.