In the midst of the fight against COVID-19, a two-year-old living in Plano is fighting a different battle for her life. In July of last year Lorenza Ruiz was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). Her family is on a desperate mission to save her life, and she urgently needs a bone marrow donor in order to survive.

The Ruiz family has teamed up with DKMS, an international nonprofit dedicated to the fight against blood cancer, to find Lorenza’s life-saving donor.

DKMS encourages anyone in good health between the ages of 18 and 55 to order a donor registration kit, and specifically encourages people of Hispanic background to register, as Lorenza is more likely to find a match in someone with a similar ethnicity. The kit will be mailed directly to you, so you do not have to go into an office to register yourself as a donor. The process involves an easy cheek swab and then mailing the kit back to DKMS.

In the midst of the current pandemic, Lorenza’s father lost his job working at a restaurant. He has been repairing and selling bikes to support his family of five as well as fund Lorenza’s chemotherapy treatments.

Lorenza’s mother Violeta said, “I wish that I had a way to let people know that we all can help.” The best way you can help the Ruiz family is through registering to receive a kit at DKMS.org. This way, you can find out if you’re a match and could potentially save Lorenza’s life.

Register for the At-Home Kit >

Lorenza’s Virtual Donor Drive >