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Mayfield residents pitch in to help person in need

Mandi Schwartz, 22, a student at Yale University, has twice been diagnosed with leukemia. She requires a stem cell transplant within 60 days in order to stay in good health.

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MAYFIELD- If someone heard that Mayfield was an area of interest in an internationally-based quest for a lifesaving blood donor of Russian, German and Ukrainian descent, he or she might think the situation resembles a storyline from a bestselling suspense novel.

As it turns out, the search and its focus on Mayfield and surrounding communities are very real. Stretching from Saskatchewan to Connecticut to northeastern Pennsylvania, this drama offerslocal residents a chance to be true heroes.

Mandi Schwartz, 22, a student at Yale University and a member of the school’s ice hockey team, has twice been diagnosed with leukemia in recent years. On both occasions, the Saskatchewan native has beaten the disease, but now requires a stem cell transplant within the next 60 days in order to stay in good health. In terms of a source for the donation, Schwartz’s doctors have advised that cord blood from the umbilical cord of a new mother is the best source to use for a transplant. In addition, doctors said that to minimize the likelihood of harmful side effects, the best donor will most likely be someone who shares all or part of Schwartz’s Russian, German and Ukrainian ancestry.

Schwartz’s family, friends and teammates have rallied to start an international search for a compatible cord blood donor. In their research, using figures for the 2000 U.S. Census, they have identified Mayfield, as one of the top 10 communities in the United States in terms of percentage of Russian ancestry. According to census data, Mayfield is tied with Kensington, N.Y., for ninth place, with 16.20 percent of the town claiming Russian ancestry. Also named in the statistics is the nearby town of Olyphant, which is tied with Norwegian Township, Pa., for tenth place in towns with Ukrainian ancestry at 7.00 percent.

As a result, Schwartz’s friends have reached out to local residents in the hopes of finding a match.

“Under the leadership of Dr. Tedd Collins, a New Haven-based clinical immunologist, we are undertaking a worldwide search for cord blood donors,” said Berit Johnson, a teammate of Schwartz at Yale, who is helping lead the search . “People can help, if they are pregnant, by donating the cord blood from their umbilical cords, which are usually simply discarded after birth. All of the information is available at www.becomemandishero.com”

Through the efforts of local residents, including Mayfield council members James Depoti and Stephanie Kulick, the administration of St. John’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Mayfield has heard about Schwartz’s situation and its members are eager to help. Founded in 1891 by Russian immigrants, St. John’s today has more than 800 parishioners. While the ethnicity of the congregation has diversified with the passing of time, the church features a large contingent of Russian ancestry.

“Over time, many of our parishioners have come from non-Russian ancestry, but we still have strong Russian history in the parish,” said the Very Reverend Mitred Archpriest John Sorochka, Pastor. “It’s a rather diverse mix, and we will be happy to be of assistance in any way we can in this case.”

Sorochka added that Schwartz’s situation will be mentioned in the printed church bulletin, which is also available on the parish Web site at www.stjohnsroc.com.

Having devoted himself to running a charity that specializes in finding compatible donors for such situations, Dr. Collins stressed that cord blood presents the best opportunity to find a match, and that the donation process is simple .“We know what kind of people are most likely to be compatible with Mandi’s DNA, and that means people with some part Russian, Ukrainian and German ancestry,” Collins said. “Cord blood represents the best chance for a match, because it has not had as much exposure to a person’s body, and therefore there is a much lower chance that the recipient’s immune system will not recognize it as a foreign substance.”

Johnson said that anyone can assist in the search by visiting www.becomemandishero.org. Information is available on the cause from the effort’s Facebook group (search for “Become Mandi’s Hero”) or via Twitter at http://bit.ly/MandiTw1000.