Carly Nguyen is fighting for her life. And people who might be able to help her may be in our area -- if Nguyen can find them.
Nguyen has acute myelogenous leukemia. This week, she learned she needs a bone marrow transplant.
So her school, Elizabeth Seton High School in Bladensburg, Maryland, has rallied around her with one cause: Find a matching donor.
The school swabbed volunteers Friday, hoping to find someone who can donate to Nguyen, who will turn 17 next week.
"We are all sisters," said Savannah Johnson, a 2014 graduate of the private, all-girls school. "What impacts one impacts all of us."
And they're hoping for help from the wider community, too -- especially among Asian Americans. Nguyen is Vietnamese, and Asian Americans are critically underrepresented in national bone marrow registries, according to the Asian-American Donor Program.
"We know that being a bone marrow donor, you can save not only Carly's life but someone who's going through the same challenge," said Melissa Davey of Elizabeth Seaton.
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If you would like to be swabbed to see if you are a match for Nguyen or someone else, go to BeTheMatch.org, or contact Davey at mdavey@setonhs.org to request a swab kit.
