Thousands of Israelis from across the country have been giving saliva samples in hopes of becoming a match for an Israeli bride fighting to beat leukemia.
The family of Roni Cohen, 27, and her fiancé, Bar Amon, have partnered with the Israel’s Ezer Mizion bone-marrow registry to try to find a bone-marrow donor to provide her with a life-saving donation.
Pleas for help have gone out over WhatsApp and on social media, asking people of Moroccan and Yemenite descent (Cohen’s genetic background) to become part of the registry in hopes that one special donor will be found.
On Sunday, Ezer Mizion opened 30 swabbing stations at malls across the country, with an estimated 10,000 Israelis submitting to testing.
Israeli Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich, who comes from a Moroccan and Yemenite background, also had a swab conducted in hopes of being a match.
Cohen is currently undergoing chemotherapy treatments. She and Armon were scheduled to be married on Sept. 17, but Cohen suddenly was overcome with lesions on her face, swollen glands in her neck and mouth, neck cramps and blue marks on her legs. Her family doctor sent her straight to the emergency room, where tests confirmed she had leukemia.
