Kim Kardashian takes cancer test for cousin
Kim Kardashian takes a mouth swab as she highlights the plight of her cancer-stricken cousin.
The caring star and her manager mum, Kris Jenner, have both filmed videos to show what’s required to join the register of bone marrow donors.
Her beloved relative Cici has been battling cancer for 17 years but has now become resistant to chemotherapy drugs.
Kim said: “I’m going to do a swab so I can see if I’m a perfect DNA match for Cici because she needs a stem cell, bone marrow transplant.”
“We are going to see if I am a match. I hope you guys can do this, it’s so easy, it’s just a little swab to the cheek.”
Cici, who runs the Kardashians Kahos store in Las Vegas, requires an Armenian donor since she is of Armenian descent.
But despite a huge Kardashian klan, none of Kim's relatives are eligible.
She explained on her blog: “Only 25% of patients with cancer find donors within their families. The other 75% of patients’ lives depend on finding a perfectly matched unrelated donor.”
The simple test takes less than thirty seconds, and once the saliva sample has been sent back with a registration form, doctors in the US will search the databases for potential matches for their patients.
In the UK, people between the ages of 18 and 49 can sign up when they donate blood.
Providing bone marrow can help people suffering with diseases of the immune system like leukaemia and aplastic anaemia.
