Yerevan resident donates bone marrow T cells
to save his brother’s life
Facilitated by ABMDR, the cell-harvesting procedure
is the 34th in the history of the organization
Los Angeles, January 30, 2020 — On January 29, Arman Hakobyan, a Yerevan resident, donated bone marrow T cells to help save the life of his brother, a cancer patient currently undergoing treatment in Germany.
Arman Hakobyan was identified by the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry (ABMDR) as a perfect bone marrow match for his sibling, who suffers from a life-threatening illness. The harvesting of the donor’s bone marrow T cells, facilitated by ABMDR, was performed in the Armenian capital, with the intention of using them for an urgent T cell transplant that could potentially save his brother’s life.
The painless, non-invasive harvesting of cells from the donor was the 34th such procedure in ABMDR’s history. As soon as the harvesting was completed, the donated cells were flown to Germany with the help of a special courier. Present at the harvesting procedure were ABMDR President Dr. Frieda Jordan, Executive Director Dr. Sevak Avagyan, and Medical Director Dr. Mihran Nazaretyan, among other lab-staff members.
“Our 34th harvesting, the first this year, is a wonderful milestone,” said Dr. Frieda Jordan and continued, “This is what ABMDR’s life-saving mission is all about. It’s what we, our organization’s volunteers, supporters, patients, and their families, across the globe, tirelessly work for and look forward to.”
About the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry: Established in 1999, ABMDR, a nonprofit organization, helps Armenians and non-Armenians worldwide survive life-threatening blood-related illnesses by recruiting and matching donors to those requiring bone marrow stem cell transplants. To date, the registry has recruited over 31,000 donors in 33 countries across four continents, identified over 9,000 patients, and facilitated 33 bone marrow transplants. For more information, call (323) 663-3609 or visit abmdr.am.
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Arman Hakobyan donated bone marrow T cells to help save his brother’s life
through a transplant.
From left: ABMDR Lab supervisor Armine Hyusyan, ABMDR Executive Director
Dr. Sevak Avagyan, ABMDR President Dr. Frieda Jordan, special courier from
Germany Reinold Ripkens, and ABMDR Medical Director Dr. Mihran Nazaretyan.
Photos courtesy of the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry.