Are you Ignacio’s lifesaving match?  Order your swab kit and find out if you are the hero he and his family urgently need!  

Ignacio is a 50-year-old husband to Melissa and father to Lucas, 15, and Gabriela, 18.  He has an incredible career as the leader of Edenburg Hospitality, a leading hospitality firm headquartered in Miramar, Fla. 

After battling fatigue, bone pain, neuropathy, dizziness, and other symptoms, he was recently diagnosed with myelofibrosis, a rare form of blood cancer. 

To defeat myelofibrosis and recover his health, Ignacio needs a peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) or bone marrow transplant from a donor who shares his tissue type.  This tissue type is inherited from our parents, like hair and eye color, so the best chance of finding Ignacio’s match is with someone who shares his genetic heritage.  

That’s where YOU come in! You could be Ignacio’s lifesaving match without even knowing it.  All it takes is a simple swab of your cheek to find out if you are a match for Ignacio or another patient in need.  

If you are of Jewish, Spanish, or Portuguese ancestry, please join the registry today. 

Ignacio’s ancestry includes Jewish individuals from Central and Eastern Europe including Ukraine, and Spanish and Portuguese individuals from Europe, as well as Central America, and South America.  

Our goal is to help Ignacio beat this diagnosis and get back to normal life. Being there for his wife and children means everything to him. Let’s make sure this beautiful family has an incredible future together. 

Joining the registry is easy!  Order a registration kit including cheek swabs by clicking the Join Registry button. The kit will be mailed to your home, just complete the health questionnaire, swab your cheeks, and return the kit in the prepaid envelope. If you are found as a match for Ignacio or another patient, Gift of Life will contact you and offer you the chance to save a life. The donation process for blood stem cells takes four to six hours at a collection center, like Gift of Life's state-of-the-art facility in Boca Raton. Blood is drawn from one arm, the stem cells are collected in a sterile bag, and the rest of the blood is returned to the donor through the other arm. Donors feel recovered in 24-48 hours.

More about Ignacio 

Ignacio is not only a loving husband and father, he is very involved in the community, and has been a youth soccer coach with the City of Pembroke Pines for many years. He has provided support for an orphanage in Venezuela, is involved with many community organizations as well as both Jewish and Catholic religious institutions, and 30 years ago, he founded his own companies, Amerisafe Industries and Edenburg Hospitality. 

Ignacio’s family has been touched by cancer before: both his wife’s parents and Ignacio’s own father lost the battle against cancer. Please help us find the donor who can give Ignacio a second chance at life.

How you can help

• Join the registry! Click on the blue "Join Registry" button above right. 
  • Healthy Donors Needed: Anyone in general good health between 18 and 35 years old may join the registry.
  • Medical Conditions: Certain medical conditions may mean you are not able to join the registry or donate – Click here to check the Conditions List. If you're not sure, a health history questionnaire is part of the registration process.
  • Younger Donors Needed: Eighty percent of donors requested by transplant centers are 18 to 35 years old for medical reasons – Click here to learn why age matters in transplant outcome.
  • Over 35: Donors 36 and older can also join, but we ask that you to please donate $60 to offset the lab fees – Click here to learn why.  
  • Over 60: Donors can remain in the registry until their 61st birthday – Click here to learn why the registry has an Age Limit.
• Run a Donor Recruitment Drive! One of the best ways to help Ignacio is to run a donor recruitment drive at your business, church or synagogue, or in your community. Gift of Life will give you the training, materials, and support to get your drive organized and to publicize it.  What happens at a drive?  You set up a table where people can complete a swab kit and register to join Gift of Life. Every swab kit from a potential donor could be someone who saves a life!  Please contact Donor Recruitment Director Chris Camacho to get started, email: ccamacho@giftoflife.org, direct line: 561-982-2904.
• Sponsor a swab kit. Click on the orange "Give to My Circle" button. Lab processing of every kit costs $60. Your contribution will help add new donors to the registry, who may be a match for Ignacio or another patient. 
• Spread the word. Please click the Share button above right to post Ignacio's story in your Facebook, Twitter, or What'sApp account. See the below for pre-sized social media post images you can download and share. The more people who order a swab kit and join the registry, the faster he will find a donor. 

Social Media Images - Click each image to open a new window and download. The two vertical images will work well for Instagram and Facebook "Stories" and the square images will work on Instagram and Facebook posts. 

Please link your posts to this URL: https://www.giftoflife.org/Ignacio